Fall Backwards
by Beckon
Summary: At first, it was just a date. They shared a mutual attraction, but that was all. However, now it seemed like every turn of events was pushing them closer and closer together.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I know, it seems like I'm just throwing stories out here and there and I apologize if I'm blowing up anymore emails over all the notifications. In all honesty, I have about four or five stories I'm working on at once (trying to anyways) which isn't a smart idea lol but I'm still doing it for the challenge. This was one of them that I'm just going to test the waters with. Trying to expand out of the normal boundaries of my usual couples, which I've been doing a lot lately, and this couple was fairly an easy choice. Anyways, just playing with it for now and seeing as I don't really have the second chapter planned out, don't expect an immediate update- it may still be possible but I just don't want to disappoint anyone who may be looking for a quick update. **

"How long are you going to hide in here?"

"I am not hiding."

The bald Third seat merely shook his head and leaned against the wooden doorframe that was left open. He watched as the violet-haired Fifth seat continued on with slaving away to organize and re-correct reports that had been left neglected to collect in piles all around the room. That set look on the man's face was a fake expression of concentration and was more suitable for the look of a man trying to avoid something. Or rather… someone.

Yumichika let out a silent, snort-like exhale and turned to look back at his bald-headed, sometimes 'friend' and 'colleague' alike. "For your information, I'm trying to at least get some organization done around here. After all, no one wants an ugly mess of a Division house, do they? Ugh, it's embarrassing whenever someone comes around to visit or even drops in for a few seconds. This place is next in line to be burned down in a quarantine."

"Yeah, sure, blame it on the Division house." Ikkaku started; watching as the remark only seemed to tick the man off even further.

"And what is _that_ supposed to mean?" Yumichika inquired.

Ikkaku shrugged and pushed himself from the doorway. "Here, I'll lay it out very plain and clear for you: you're too scared to confront someone who you find personally interesting."

"I am not." he retorted as he went back to picking up the mess of papers laying around.

"Yeah you are; you're just too scared to admit that you're scared in the first place."

"For the last time, Ikkaku, I am not scared." Yumichika reinforced; tossing a couple stacks of papers into the nearby trash. "If I wasn't so preoccupied with cleaning up this mess, I would… walk right over there and tell her exactly what I think."

"I don't think you have the balls to do it." Ikkaku pressed; grinning as he watched as the comment only further the irritation in the man's eyes. "In fact, I think even if you didn't 'preoccupy' yourself with this 'mess' you still wouldn't go over there to her. I think you would just stay cooped up in your room and fantasize about her."

"Ugh, please, that's a right I believe you reserve yourself for that woman of yours- what's her name again? Oh yeah, Mizuho." Yumichika muttered; watching as it was Ikkaku's turn to look annoyed. "I mean, I'm sure you stay up all night thinking about her and her… hideous attraction in fashion."

He thought about punching out the man but stopped himself; a sly grin replacing his irritated expression from before. "Okay, fine… then I guess I'll be the one to go tell her."

"Please, you don't even have the _right_ to be around her-" Yumichika started.

"Oh yeah? And who's going to stop me?" Ikkaku challenged as he stepped back and out into the hallway. "I mean, you said yourself that you were too busy in here to bother her so… I guess that just leaves me and every other man in this city to talk to her."

Every nerve in his body seemed to engulf itself in flames at the man's words as he ripped the reports he held in half; an eruption of paper pieces clouded around him. "You. Wouldn't."

"What? Oh hell no, of course not." Ikkaku shrugged. "She's not my type but…"

"But what?" Yumichika pressed.

"I've seen Hisagi visiting her Division house more often than not… and those aren't medical visits either." Ikkaku spoke; grinning as the words seemed dig themselves underneath the man's skin. "You know I respect you enough to not invade on your 'potential territory' but not everyone here respects you like that."

Just the thought alone of someone else speaking to her irritated him- and Hisagi of ALL people! Ugh, that man could chase away a sunny day with his hideous… everything. Tossing aside the shredded papers in hand, he stormed his way to the doorway. "I'll be right back."

"Are you kidding?" Ikkaku chuckled; watching as the man pushed past him and headed down the corridor. "I've got to come and watch this."

There wasn't much distance between their two Division Houses, right? He was in Eleven and… she was Four… There was a slim chance that someone would sneak in and take this chance right when he stepped forward, right?

Even if they did, he wouldn't take their advances seriously.

No one else deserved her; she was far too beautiful for just anyone.

* * *

><p>"Isane, when do you get off this shift?"<p>

Chuckling lightly, the silver-haired woman turned to see the blonde-haired part-Lieutenant hanging through the nearby window; her upper body just barely able to balance on the thin window frame. "I get off at the end of this hour but I'll have to be back for the midnight shift; you know how it is around here sometimes."

"Pft, tell me about it; I know plenty." Kiyone replied with a rough sigh. "So how long of a break do you get?"

"I don't know, probably… five hours max?" Isane offered as she did her best to rearrange some of the few furniture pieces that resided in the lobby setting of the Division House. In cases of extreme emergencies, the room was opened up for spare cots, so they made a notion to keep as little furniture in there as possible- but still tried to make it somewhat welcoming. She wasn't sure if it was working or not, a lot of people just didn't seem to enjoy walking into Division Four overall. "Why?"

"Oh I don't know, me and a few of the girls were going to head down into town and see what's new." Kiyone shrugged. "I just thought I'd ask, since you're my sister and all and I never really get to see you that often."

"Okay, okay, I get it." Isane chuckled as she tossed aside a pillow before she turned back to the blonde. "I'll meet up with you guys as soon as I get free from here and I'll try to spend more of my breaks with you. Happy?"

"Yeah- well not all your breaks, because sometimes me and Sentaro-"

"I don't even want you to mention that name around me." Isane interrupted; watching as the younger woman only grinned in response. "Just the thought of you two- ugh, drives me insane."

"Why exactly again?" Kiyone questioned; propping one arm between the window sill and her chin. "I mean, come on, he's a sexy piece of a man."

"If you're going to spend all evening talking about him and… whatever it is that you two do, I'm not going."

"Oh come on- okay fine, I promise to behave myself." Kiyone sighed. "You know, if you would return Hisagi's advances-"

"I told you before again and again, I am in no position to hold a relationship right now." Isane spoke. "I barely have time for myself without you breathing down my neck." the remark earned her a short raspberry from her sister. "And besides… I'm just not… romantically attracted to him; he's not my type."

"You sure about that?"

"Are you sure Sentaro's your type?"

"I don't really pay much attention to it; he's got a nice body and I like masculine bodies." Kiyone shrugged.

Isane rolled her eyes lightly with a low groan and continued on with her minor house-keeping to keep herself occupied for the last half-hour of her shift. "Remind me to never talk to you about any person who takes the form of the male body."

"Okay, okay, we won't talk about guys again, sorry." Kiyone chuckled.

"Why are you hanging in the window anyways? The door is just a few feet away." Isane questioned as she moved over to reorganize the messy stack of magazines that seemed scattered all in one corner; they were just a mix of medical articles and local gossip columns from downtown.

"I didn't feel like walking all the way to the door." Kiyone shrugged before she leaned back out the window to glance at something behind her. "Uh oh, looks like someone's coming in to ruin the rest of your shift."

"It's not so much as 'ruin' as it is letting me do my job- which is something you should probably take more seriously." Isane noted playfully; watching as her sister lightly mocked her afterwards. "Who is it? Does it look serious?"

"Nah, just Ikkaku and Yumichika." Kiyone replied. "Looks like something's up but… can't really tell from this distance."

"I wonder what they're doing here?" Isane mused to herself as she busied herself with the magazines for a little longer; carefully placing them back into their places, she ruffled up her hair for a moment and then tried to carefully piece it back into some form of style.

"Are you fixing your hair?"

"What? No, I'm pushing it out of my face." she quickly defended; practically feeling the woman's grin burning into her back. "Just because I work a full twelve hour shift, deal with patients every hour and get virtually no rest throughout the day, doesn't mean I have to look completely exhausted whenever a new patient arrives." Wow, that excuse did not help her case at all.

"Well I hate to break it to you but… you do kind of look like shit."

"Thanks, Kiyone."

"I'm trying to be honest, you know some people appreciate that."

She shook her head and looked back at about the same time the two seated members of Division Eleven showed up. There was Ikkaku, always with that crazy, psycho-killer looking grin of his- of course, this time it seemed to be more out of a humorous state than anything; and then there was Yumichika who… looked oddly rigid and tense despite his usual laid back and casual stance. "Hey you two, what brings you guys here?"

"Well you see, Yumichika and I were doing some late evening training and I think I might've busted his head pretty bad." Ikkaku started as he leaned up against the doorframe. "I thought I'd drop him by and see if there's any permanent damage to it."

"Oh, well I can do some tests and see if there's any damage… doesn't look like there's any exterior physical damage from here though." Isane replied.

"Yeah, I was actually surprised at that too but then again, you never know these days." Ikkaku shrugged. "Did I mention you're looking rather admirable this evening?"

"It's a new look she's trying out, it's called 'A la Division Four and five days without a shower.'" Kiyone answered.

"It is not!" Isane countered quickly.

"Admirable? Really? Is that all you can say?" Yumichika remarked as he glanced back at the bald man before he turned his attention back to the silver-haired Lieutenant. "Ugh, that is the… least accurate word at this moment. Isane, as of right now, you are the perfect symbol of natural beauty and I… you know what, you're always going to be the ideal example of natural perfection. You're flawless and the absolute figure of the female body- it's far greater than being just 'admirable' it's… it's a beauty that can't be defined and can't be captured on the human tongue."

She felt a hot flush of heat spread across her face at the words. He had to be kidding… there was no way he was serious. Although, he wasn't one to just kid around with something like that; that words 'beauty' and 'beautiful' were words that he had practically claimed ownership to- it was like no one else was allowed to say them. "Uh wow… you must've… taken a harder hit to the head than I thought." she chuckled nervously.

"What? No, that was just a story Ikkaku made up."

"Well, hate to burst your bubble but Isane's not 'in a position to hold a relationship' right now-" Kiyone started.

"Don't listen to her." Isane quickly interrupted. "She doesn't really speak for me."

"What? But that's what you said-"

"So… could I possibly see you this evening?" Yumichika questioned.

It was like a mix of clockwork in her head as she rattled off different questions and scenarios in her head; the same question kept popping up over and over again no matter how hard she tried to push it aside. Was he serious about what he said earlier?

"I uh… I get off work in fifteen minutes." Isane started. "We can go for coffee or tea or whatever it is that you drink."

It felt like the tight, silent tension inside of him released immediately at those words. "I would love that."

"Oh, I see how it is, just completely blow me off then." Kiyone teased.

"Have fun with the girls."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Well glad to see that the first chapter went over well, hopefully this one does too although I'll admit there are some faults in it. Thanks for the reviews though, guys.**

She shouldn't be getting worked up over this, right?

It was just going to be tea or coffee, that's all. The whole thing would be over in what? Twenty minutes maybe? Was that really worth the time she was taking to try to at least appear decent? Well… even if it wasn't, it wouldn't hurt for her to try to look nice outside of the Division barracks.

Brushing her hand through her silver locks once more, she took one more look in the mirror before she left. Ugh, it felt like no matter what she did, her hair didn't look right, her uniform didn't seem to fit correctly and she wasn't even going to get started on the sleepless nights that were apparent in her dark eyes at this point. She was just ready to step out and hear him say something like 'gotcha' and play the whole thing off as a joke; a part of her almost seemed like it would willingly accept that instead.

"_- it's… it's a beauty that can't be defined and can't be captured on the human tongue." _

Yeah, he had to be BS'ing her.

There were several words that could describe what she looked like and Kiyone's description from before seemed to fit the most: she looked like shit.

Taking in a deep breath, she slowly let it out before she excused herself from the restroom; heading down the corridor on the other side of the door, she watched as the new members were just now walking in through the front door- the fourth shift for the day was just beginning. It looked like Yasochika and Hanataro were on staff for the next five hours- which meant everything was in good hands… for now.

He was waiting for her right outside the Division house, just like he said. The Fifth seat from Division Eleven couldn't have looked more confident standing outside; he barely paid attention to the other division members walking by him- it felt like he looked right through them as those Wisteria eyes landed on her.

"You weren't kidding." Isane chuckled lightly; a nervous hint in her tone as she slowly approached the violet-haired man. "I'm going to be honest and say that I half expected you to be gone by the time I got back."

"Tsk, please, I may seem vain but even I wouldn't dare disrespect a lady- regardless of anything and especially not one of the Fourth Division. That in itself is seemingly suicidal." Yumichika replied with a light, yet playful click of his tongue as his arms dropped back down to his sides. "Now then, where do you want to go? I mean, we could head downtown, or go back to my Division house, or- on second thought, Ikkaku is back at the barracks, so that last one is out."

"And my sister and a few friends are downtown so… I'd prefer it if we didn't run into them." Isane started. "So… where does that leave us?"

He narrowed his eyes in thought for a few moments. "Well, there's always the fields just behind the training arenas but I didn't know if that would seem too suspicious- I wouldn't want someone to get the wrong idea."

"Yeah, I've heard that area gets patrolled by Captain Soifon for that very reason." she chuckled lightly. "We can always just drop into town anyways; I'll just try to stay out of sight, although knowing the girls, they'll be too busy… shopping or whatever it is they do to even notice us."

"Well if you don't have a problem with it-"

"Isane!"

The call of her name could only mean one thing and she found herself regretting the fact that she had to turn around to see what the problem was; watching as the shorter, dark-haired Division member trotted after her. "What's the problem, Hanataro?"

"We're one person short of staff." he started. "And you're the only one I could get in time…"

Really? Now this had to happen? She ought to find the missing person and drag them back here but… alas, this was her duty; this was her job to… fill in whenever someone couldn't show up. And even if it both annoyed and pained her, she couldn't risk skipping out on the needed opportunity. They couldn't function with a smaller staff in the event that something happened. She gave him a small nod before she slowly turned back to the violet-haired man. "I'm sorry-"

"It's fine." he assured with a light smile. "I know how your Division works, it's probably safer if you stayed a bit longer. We'll just have to take a rain check."

Even as disappointing as it was, she was glad he seemed to take it well; although she had a feeling he may be cursing the situation later. "Thank you. I don't think you'll want to take me up on it but… I can probably get off around one in the morning."

"I'll be here then."

* * *

><p>With two shifts placed back to back, she had officially worked twelve full hours today; well, it was probably closer to fourteen hours since she came in early to get some paperwork finished up and mailed off. She was used to days like these, emergencies where she had to be pulled from her break and thrown back into action. But this time… this time she wasn't the least bit happy with it. It didn't settle well, since she usually loved her work and didn't mind the long hours but… she just really wanted to go out with him. Well now, 'go out' probably wasn't what she was looking for; they were just going to spend some time with one another- it wasn't going to be a date. Okay, well maybe?<p>

By the time the clock was nearing one, she was sure she was on the verge of wanting to collapse. But, there was that irritating sense of restlessness that was always there to keep her awake. Rubbing at the sore muscles at the back of her neck, she muttered a few selective words to herself as she carried on down the corridor. Her extra shift was over; she got someone else to cover her midnight hours so she was free for now. And no one was going to tell her different.

"Thanks for the extra hand tonight."

She didn't know who called out the remark but she gave them a small wave to assure them it was alright. This was her job after all. A long sigh escaped her as she stepped out into the open lobby and started for the front door. She could probably keep herself awake for a few more hours, at least long enough to make up for her earlier absence. Although, she honestly expected him not to be there again… he seemed always willing to prove her wrong instead.

"I don't know how you guys always pull off those long hours."

A light chuckle escaped her as he stood waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. "Believe me, I wonder the same thing all the time. I think it's just instinct by now, I mean everyone here suffers from insomnia anyways."

"I guess I just assumed you guys could fix that."

"Oh, we probably could but then no one would show up for work in time."

He followed her quiet chuckle and waited for her to join his side before he moved to walk with her. "Well at least you're making good use of the time. Most of the time, Division Eleven does half the work and then we all get drunk and push everything off for tomorrow. We repeat this same method over and over again until the work is done and the alcohol's gone."

"Now I understand why so many injuries come from your Division." Isane remarked. "I guess it's a good thing we work around the clock."

"Well, we drink around the clock."

She lightly pulled her jacket closer around her as the nighttime temperature was just enough to send a light chill through her; at this hour, it seemed the coldest and yet the calmest all the same. Sometimes she enjoyed sitting out on her porch and enjoying the atmosphere of it all. "So… I have to ask because it's just… blatant, but why choose to spend time with me? I mean, first off our Divisions absolutely hate each other- or at least you guys hate us."

"I hold a great amount of respect to my Division… but we're not entirely the best people either, nor the smartest. In retrospect, the Fourth Division is the last Division we should pick a fight with seeing as we all enjoy fighting and fighting leads to injuries and… you have the only Division who can heal us. And if we piss you off, well… suddenly that arm just couldn't have been saved."

"We wouldn't do that." she assured. "We'd just treat you with enough kindness to drive you into insanity."

"That's even worse."

She shook her head and kept going along the dark trail underneath them; not sure on where they were going or how long they were going to stay out but… at this point, it didn't matter to her. "It's what we do best. Laughter's the best type of medicine but I don't think laughing is going to save you from a ruptured spleen, liver and/or kidney."

"Depends on how much painkiller or drugs are involved." he remarked; not entirely knowing where they were exactly going to go just the same. "Let's talk about something more easy going though… not that I actually came with anything prepared to converse about."

"It's okay, I didn't either." she remarked. "In fact… I don't know, I don't even know why I came out here with you. It's nothing personal, I just… I just don't go out with guys, in fact when you dropped in earlier today, I had just finished telling Kiyone that I wasn't looking to get involved with, well, with anything really. And yet, here I am, out at one in the morning trying to figure out where exactly I'm going."

"… Emotionally or physically? Because I'm not entirely sure what trail we're on anymore."

"That was my main worry."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I will definitely have to agree and say this is a unique couple, and a very difficult one at that, but in the end most couples have their own unique way of being stubborn when it comes to typing them. Hopefully, there can be justice for the couple in this story. Anyways, thanks for the reviews so far. I'm surprised at how many people find this couple interesting.**

The short amount of time they were able to spend that night was well used and she found herself sharing more interests with him than she had previously thought. The uneasiness about it before melted away into short conversations and spurs of laughter as they both seemed well tuned into one another; to be quite honest, she was surprised at how much fun she did have and how much she enjoyed his company. When the short visit came to an end… well, she found herself looking forward to the next time they could share company with one another.

That was until the morning showed up and gave her something new to looking forward to. Or, rather not.

"Captain Unohana!"

"I apologize for the late notice, Isane, but I myself was just informed of it." her black-haired Captain spoke; her tone was soft and calm despite her conflicting unruly attitude with the request. "This mission has been planned for awhile now but it was just brought to my attention that it would be in best interest if I sent along a member of my Division with the team. Now, I had no intentions of it at first but after some debating I decided that it would, indeed, be in best interest to go through with it. Now, you're my best and fastest worker; you earned your place as Fourth Division Lieutenant. That's why I chose you."

She tried several times to form words only to stumble over empty air. "But… I thought we were forbidden to go into the human world."

"Yes well, there were terms that had to be looked over in order for this to be approved of. Now, I do hope you choose to accept this request on behalf of the Fourth Division."

When it was worded like that, it felt as though she had no other choice but to accept it. With a defeated sigh, she gave into a soft nod. "Yes ma'am, when do I depart on this 'mission?'"

"In two hours."

"What?"

"You may be there for several days, so do be prepared for quite a long stay; pack accordingly."

Another long sigh escaped under her breath before she moved to excuse herself so she could go and get some of the last-minute packing done before departure. Why they decided to link Division Eleven and Division Four out on a mission was beyond her; it was notable that the two Divisions despised one another- a reason she was not entirely clear on and seemed solely from Division Eleven's point of view. It wasn't like they had gone out of their way to cross the Division but it was a matter that she did not wish to think on right now. There would be plenty of thinking to do later.

Until then, she had things to pack and stuff to do; she should probably inform Kiyone of her soon to be leave of absence. That was going to be fun to try and explain to the younger woman.

"Isane! Isane! IsaneIsaneIsane!"

She turned back at the call and watched as the certain blonde-haired woman was running towards her. "Kiyone, please, there's no running in the Division Four barracks."

"Rules, rules, rules." the woman seemed to tease as she drew in closer to her. "Guess who got picked to go on a mission into the human world?"

"How did you already know before I did?" Isane questioned.

"You're going too?"

It took a moment before she finally caught up on what the woman was saying. "Wait, hang on, who's letting you go out on a mission? There is no possible way that you could handle yourself out there."

The remark only seemed to bring a soft wrinkle to the woman's brow. "Hey now, Captain Ukitake made a very wise decision in choosing me; at least he didn't choose Sentaro, which would've been a horrible choice. But now we can go out on a mission together! How exciting is this!"

"Kiyone, I'd appreciate it if you took this a little more seriously."

"You know Yumichika's going to be on this mission."

"… And?"

"Oh please, like you could deny that look of almost too much approval."

"Approval for what? Look, Kiyone, it's normally a respective motive if you're chosen to go out and fulfill some kind of assignment, such as this. Which means, I'm not going to let anything distract me; which means, you should probably put a lid on this… whatever it is that you're trying to do."

"Help you find some kind of meaning in life?"

"I do not need a boyfriend to be happy!"

"No one said it had to be a boyfriend. It could be an acquaintance, a lover, a friend with benefits, a-"

"Kiyone. Stop."

The blonde-haired woman only seemed to grin once more at the act. "Okay fine, suit yourself. I'll see you in two hours- also, what exactly should I pack? I mean, I have clothes but should I bring something else? What exactly is illegal in the human world?"

"Go ask your Captain; I'm sure he has a list." Isane sighed; watching as her sister seemed to nod as though she hadn't thought of that and hurried back down the corridor- even after she told her there was no running. One hand moved to ruffle up her silver locks as she worked her way through the building, trying to find her way back towards her own wing before someone else wanted to interrupt her. She had less than two hours to get things together and pack appropriately. Come to think of it, she herself hadn't asked much about this 'task', so what was she supposed to pack for it anyway? Well… hopefully at most it would only last a few days and then they could return back upon completion of their objective. And then she could continue on with her normal, day-to-day routines.

… She wondered if he was really going to go on that mission.

Not that she was going to let him distract her or be distracted by it…

* * *

><p>"You know, I heard Isane was going to be accompanying us on this mission."<p>

A heavy wrinkle contorted his nose as he tried to focus on packing things for the task at hand; hoping to eventually ignore the bald man who stood in the open doorway. "Yes, and I heard Mizuho was going to be there too. Oh, what a coincidence for you. Now I can see why you were so willing to sign up for this rather pointless task."

"Don't try to change this subject around."

"What subject are we exactly discussing?" Yumichika questioned as he turned back to face the Third seat. "I assumed we were talking about this 'mission' and in which case we were both actively listing certain attributes that would following along with it. You see, when it's phrased that way, it doesn't necessarily seem off-task, now does it?"

He watched as the Fifth seat merely turned back to his packing and tried to leave the conversation-slash-argument off at that point; not that things were ever that simple. "I just thought I'd drop by and let you know- I wouldn't want you to be distracted during this mess."

"Tsk, please, when have I ever been distracted? Or have ever allowed myself to be distracted by a member of the opposing sex?"

"Most of the time, you say they're not worthy of becoming a distraction to anyone… but if I recall correctly, you were preoccupied with her plenty of times before; why should this be any different?"

… Okay so, as much as he would hate it, he had to admit that the bald man had a point.

The other women of the Society were… average but nothing of them exactly stuck out to him. Once before he reminded Matsumoto that it was only called a 'beauty mark' if the person was beautiful- otherwise it was just a mole; needless to say, she was not the least bit happy with him after that, but he valued his own sense of brute honesty. But then… the Fourth Division Lieutenant came along and things changed. He remembered how he used to hear her complain about her height, about how she couldn't do anything with her hair and how she wasn't near as stylish as everyone else- her much taller height made it impossible for her to find anything in her size. Personally, he liked every aspect of her. So what if her shirt didn't seem to fit the way she wanted it to? He thought it perfectly accented her eyes and her smile could go with anything anyways.

"It's different because-" he started to defend as he turned back towards the man- only to realize that he had disappeared. How long had he been thinking to himself? Shit, that silence practically gave himself away! A low groan escaped him as he realized that, as of now, there was no recovering from his lack of an answer in an appropriate time span.

It didn't matter.

He had more important things to worry with anyways.

It didn't take him quite as long to pack as he had first imagined, so there was some waiting room to spare before he headed off to where they were ordered to meet in the two hour time limit they were given. Luckily, he wasn't the first one there, so it wasn't entirely awkward to stand outside by himself- although the other two that were already present weren't too far away from that 'awkward' situation. He figured Ikkaku already would have been there but… he wasn't expecting the blonde-haired, Tenth Division Lieutenant to be ready to accompany them as well.

He wondered if she was still pissed off at him.

"About time you joined us? Decided to have some alone time with-"

"Don't even finish that sentence because I don't care much for it." Yumichika interrupted; cutting off the bald man before he could finish himself- which was probably for the better.

"Does anyone else find it odd that they're only sending Division members in instead of… I don't know, at least one Captain to accompany?" Matsumoto questioned.

"Odd? Yes, but do I really care? Not really." Ikkaku answered. "I'm sure there's a reason and for all we know, it's probably only a microscopic problem that wouldn't be worth wasting anyone's time for. Unfortunately, we're the ones with the most time to waste, so it's a given to send us instead."

"That's the worst explanation ever."

"Well I never said I was going to give you a good answer."

Oh, this conversation was going to be full of fun, he could already tell.

"Matsumoto!"

The trio of them seemed to glance back at the call even when the voice just shouted for one person. A second tussle of blonde-hair identified the shorter woman as the temporary-half Lieutenant of the Thirteenth Division; a position she shared with another member, Officer Sentaro. He figured he could recognize Kiyone from any distance. Her erratic behavior was easy to spot and… she was normally with her silver-haired sister.

"Kiyone!" Matsumoto called back with a quick grin and a wave. "You're coming along too?"

"Why does everyone find that so hard to believe?" Kiyone questioned as she grew closer to the group; one bag tightly tucked under one arm.

"Because Captain Ukitake doesn't feel comfortable sending out his Division members… especially after Officer Kaien's death."

"Oh yeah…"

He carefully eased himself out of that conversation; listening as the topic changed on a dime and the two girls went off on something that happened two days ago. Why couldn't they keep up on current topics instead? Always gossiping about something that happened days ago and no longer had relevance anymore.

"Uh… hey there, Yumichika."


	4. Chapter 4

She didn't know why she suddenly felt… bashful maybe?

She had known him for a long time now, so things shouldn't be any different from what they were before and yet… after that short date of theirs, everything felt changed. It was probably just her mind playing games with her though; some unbalanced form of chemical that was making her feel like a blushing teenager again. Nemu could probably explain the whole thing to her in scientific detail.

"You'll… actually be accompanying us?" he questioned slowly. Not that he resented that, in fact he was almost more excited for it- he had just assumed Ikkaku had been lying to him before so… he didn't put too much hope into it. But, judging from the bag that rested almost uncomfortably on her shoulder, he guessed those objections were untrue.

"Don't worry, I'll try not to slow you guys down." she chuckled lightly.

"No, that's not it, it's just… well to be honest, I've never actually seen or heard of a Division Four member being deployed out into the human world." he assured.

"Yeah… we got forbidden from the human world for a bit- I don't know details but I think some kind of 'incident' might've lead to that." she answered with a light shrug. "But I guess Captain Unohana decided to overlook that for now. Although… the fact that I'm being sent out with you guys is a little worrying; what exactly is this mission about?"

"Oh, you know, the usual." Matsumoto interrupted; bringing her arms up to cross beneath her breasts. "Just probably some scouting work to look out for anything suspicious. You know, doing like the mule work."

"I wouldn't exactly describe it as 'mule work' but I guess to you, it's just not as glamorous." Isane remarked playfully.

"Pft, oh please, you act like I'm afraid of getting my hands dirty." she replied with a soft chuckle. "But you know what, the human world has some amazing shops; we should plan a shopping day if we get the chance. Maybe we'll finally find something that fits you- you know, they have those, what are they called… large and tall stores? I'm sure we'll get something."

"Thanks." Isane nodded half sarcastically.

He waited for the blonde-haired woman to turn back to the other two before he spoke; although he didn't really care much for if she overheard him or not. "You really shouldn't be taking fashion advice from someone who busts out her cleavage like they're extra sets of limbs; or who refers to a mole as a beauty mark."

"Yumichika." she hissed jokingly. "That's cruel."

"Only because it's true."

"I'm glad to see everyone's here on time and look as though they're ready to go."

She looked over at the voice and watched as the white-haired, First Lieutenant was slowly making his way towards them. She figured she knew the Lieutenant fairly well, mostly just from Vice Captain meetings, but it was rather… strange of him to arrive at such a time. He was usually busy with work and didn't often have down time to spend with the other Lieutenants on his off-days; in fact, most of them joked that it was a rare sighting just to see him once a month and even then it was just by a mere glance. "Lieutenant Chojiro, I'm surprised to see you out of your Division."

"It was not easy; they had to drag me." he remarked lightly as the comment was made to be taken as a joke despite his rather serious façade.

"What exactly are you doing here anyways?" Matsumoto questioned.

"Actually, I've been assigned to carry on this mission along with you." he started. "I'll be the connection between Soul Society and the human world, kind of like a communications operator. Anyways, I'm also here to explain this whole operation to you. Essentially, we're crossing over into the human world for the purpose of inspecting some rumored suspicious behavior; there is the possibility of running into conflict, however, which is why Captain Yamamoto requested that a member of Division Four follow with us on this deployment. We've been checking in on the human world for awhile now and several of our scouts haven't returned just yet, so something's going on. Now, as for a time frame for this thing, we'll be there for a few days at least or a few weeks at most if our suspicious are met. It is required for every member to blend themselves into the general public but… do try to not get distracted from the overall mission."

"Does shopping count?"

"Yes, Lieutenant Matsumoto, shopping can cause a distraction."

"Rats."

"Now then, I know this mission doesn't seem clear and is based on unconfirmed data, but it's best to be safe than sorry in this situation." Chojiro continued. "Now then, if there are no objections or last minute changes, we can head out at this moment."

"If we're going to be there for a few weeks… what about accommodations?" Kiyone questioned.

"Do no worry, your Captains have already planned that part out; you'll be fully secured when we get there."

"That's a first." Ikkaku muttered.

"Upset you won't be able to spend the night at Mizuho?" Yumichika teased. "Then again, I suppose it'd be easier elsewhere where Kiego won't run into you two. Again."

Readjusting the strap of her bag once more, Isane watched as the First Lieutenant was ushering them to where their deployment area would be; she turned to speak to Yumichika for a moment, only to watch as Ikkaku seemed to take pleasure in landing a hard punch into the him instead. But, she supposed by the short laugh that followed afterwards… it was probably just a joking thing… right?

This was going to be a long trip.

* * *

><p>While she had only seen the human world a small handful of times in the long years she had worked as a Shinigami… she could tell not much had changed. In fact, really nothing of it looked different. Then again, she had only managed to catch a light glimpse of it now and again as they worked their way towards whatever kind of destination awaited them.<p>

"Here it is." Cho announced.

"Ugh, I've seen better places in the middle of nowhere." Matsumoto cringed.

A light frown caught her own lips as she peeked into the apartment that stood open before them. It was small and rather cramped looking… but at least the furniture seemed decent enough. There was a lot of work that could be put into it but it was manageable for now; not for too long of a period, so if they were destined to be stuck here for a few weeks she would definitely have to take some heavy cleanser to the place. Not to mention, the doorway was a bit short and she had to slightly duck to get in- that in itself was a bad notion in her book.

"It's… nice." Isane started as she slowly stepped inside; not too keen on exactly touching anything just yet.

"Nice? It's hideous." Matsumoto replied with a light sneer as she seemed to be following the same method of avoiding almost everything there was to the place. "Who picked out the furniture? Because if you got Captain Hitsugaya to, he has a horrible sense of matching colors."

"Are you guys kidding? This place is pretty sweet." Kiyone remarked as she tossed her bag aside into one corner and already made herself at home. "I'm gonna check out all the bedrooms and pick mine!"

"You're going to steal the best one!" Matsumoto called as she chased after the other blonde.

Shaking her head, Isane looked over the placed once more before she slowly put her bag into a rather antique-looking chair that was displaced in one corner. "Well… it's something right? At least we don't have to bunk up with someone else here and infringe on their privacy."

"Well at least you're giving it a chance." Chojiro chuckled. "I'm not entirely looking forward to showing the other two where our room will be."

"Where… exactly are you three rooming?" Isane questioned as she moved around to inspect some of the furniture pieces in the open living area.

"We're in the building across the street from here."

"Why are you so far away?"

"I'm not entirely sure but I believe it's just for the means of spreading everyone out to further our investigation region. Or… to merely separate the two sexes." he answered with a light shrug. "I cannot give you a full and honest answer, I apologize."

"It's quite alright." she nodded with a soft chuckle. "We'll be fine here. You just… you go see if you can convince those two to live in the same room. Heavens know if Matsumoto thought this place looked disgusting, we should probably fear on what Yumichika's reaction will be."

"Hence why I am not entirely looking forward to it."

She watched as the man eventually disappeared to regroup with the other two who were probably, or rather hopefully, still waiting in the lobby of this building. A low sigh escaped her as she moved to continue on her small investigation of the place. There was a rather… lovely looking, pale-yellow couch in the middle of the room; accompanying the slightly bulky-looking TV that settled across from it on some kind of… dusty looking stand. An oak desk was positioned in front of the window that took up part of the far wall; allowing some sunlight into the room. Dark curtains were pulled aside and the blinds were turned slightly upward to block the street vision below. A small kitchen resided in one corner, with an open bar-like counter with two accompanying stools along with it; it was slightly furnished with a few operating machines, which was good enough for them, she supposed. There were two hallways that branched off from the main room; she had watched Matsumoto and Kiyone disappear into one of them, so she decided to check out the second one. It was a short hallway, just a few feet in length and lead to a slightly opened door that revealed the third bedroom. A slightly cramped-looking room but it was bearable enough for her; a single bed, a small dresser and a tiny walk-in closet that looked as though it was still shorter than her.

"Guess who nailed the best bedroom!"

A playful roll of her eyes followed as she turned back to see Kiyone doing some form of a victory dance for herself in the living room. "Is it really that big of a deal?"

"Not really, I just wanted to win something."

It had barely started and she already couldn't wait for the whole thing to be over.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Just noticed how a lot of these chapters are basically just dialogue pieces... hmm that irks me. **

"Go ahead. Say it."

"Say what?"

A long, dark sigh escaped him as he slowly dragged his hand over his face before he looked to the rather, stoic and emotionless face of his violet-haired partner. "We're both expecting you to say something, in fact we know you're going to say something so just get it over with now."

"No, that's quite alright." Yumichika remarked as he stood in the open doorway of the apartment; briefly looking over the place for a few moments. "You can go ahead and get settled in, I won't disrupt you." he watched as the bald man only shook his head before he eventually seemed to wave him off and disappear into one of the hallways in the place. "This place reeks of self-murder."

"Self-murder?" Chojiro repeated as he carefully tucked the curtains into the wall hook to open the room up with a bit of lighting.

"Personally, if this mission isn't over within a few weeks time, I'll probably end up killing myself just to escape this place." he answered as gingerly tried to avoid anything and everything to do with the place as he eventually stepped inside. "This place is absolutely disgusting. Doesn't anyone know how to properly clean a place? Let alone try to… I don't know, get a decent interior designer. This place looks like hell, and even then Hell has better decorations."

"I told you he was going to do this!" Ikkaku called from some masked room off in the hallway.

"Oh please, I'd rather stay here than at Mizuho's place again; you want to talk about filthy, that place has diseases growing in the carpets." Yumichika remarked. "I think I'll just choose a room and try to stay in there during this entire trip. After some serious disinfecting, that is."

"I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to tidy the place up, for now let's just take the rest of the day as a break before we started working." Chojiro started. "Actually, I'm going to step outside for a moment and report back to Soul Society to let them know that we've arrived."

He watched as the man walked back across the room and stepped out into the hallway outside. He personally didn't think it added any privacy at all but he wasn't going to tell the man how to do his job. Ugh, this place got worse and worse the more he looked at it. He supposed now all he had to do was choose a room and stay in there for the rest of the afternoon. Slowly, he forced himself further into the apartment before he eased into one of the siding hallways; picking the only available room that seemed to be left. It seemed to be the smallest but probably one of the better looking ones. The bed seemed considerably clean and the dresser wasn't half bad… it was bearable. Carefully tossing his things into a small chair that had been thrown in one corner, he moved himself around before he walked towards the window on one wall. It looked out into the street, which was possibly an even worst sight, but at least it let in some light.

"Hey, where did Lieutenant Chojiro go?"

He turned back at the question momentarily. "He stepped outside for a moment."

"Good, then no one will witness me murder you."

"Pft, I don't regret a damn thing I said before. I still don't understand how you could bear to roll around on that carpet as much as you two do."

"You're never gonna laid with that germ-a-phobic theme."

"At least then I won't get a disease either."

* * *

><p>"We need to go shopping."<p>

She was halfway through unpacking when the blonde-haired Lieutenant pushed into her room. A light chuckle escaped her as she looked back to the woman. "Lieutenant Chojiro said that that would be a distraction and besides, I packed plenty of clothes, I don't need anymore."

"You can never have 'plenty' of clothes." Matsumoto retorted before she walked over and purposely pushed the woman's bag off the corner of the bed; spilling her neatly folded clothes onto the floor. "See? Now they're dirty and you'll need something clean to wear."

"Wha- Matsumoto!" Isane started before she interrupted herself with a short sigh. "They're not even that dirty, I'd still wear them."

"But they touched the floor."

"You're talking to a woman who works in the Fourth Division; I have been elbows-deep in a man's stomach. I don't count the floor being all too dirty." Isane reminded before she stooped down to carefully retrieve her fallen clothing. "But fine, I'll go with you. I probably won't find anything I like anyways."

"Oh don't worry, consider that challenge accepted."

Sometimes she hated how easily persuaded she was; right now, she supposed she just wanted to get that out of the way so she won't be bugged with it for the rest of however long they were going to be here. Running a hand through her hair, she started to follow the woman out of the room but ended up nearly colliding with her instead when the woman made a sudden change of direction. "What is your problem?"

"Ooh, what is that?" Matsumoto squealed lightly as she trotted over to the window instead; hands pulling open the blinds a little bit more to peek out. "I think you might've gotten the best bedroom instead."

"Why? You can probably see a dumpster out there." Isane remarked.

"You can see straight across the street and into Yumichika's room."

"You can not." she denied, even though she found herself walking over to see for herself- just to prove the woman wrong.

Okay… so maybe she was right. In fact, right now, since he had his own blinds open, she could see that he and Ikkaku seemed to be engaged in some kind of conversation; or possible argument seeing as they were making a lot of arm motions as well.

"Lucky."

"Stop saying that."

"Are we going out or not?" Kiyone shouted from the living area. "Because if not, I'm gonna check out the cable and see what's on."

Shaking her head once more, she pushed herself from the window and headed out of the small room; catching her sister in the mid-act of bouncing herself from one end of the couch to the next. "Really Kiyone? How old are you?"

"Old enough to keep doing this."

"Good enough of an answer for me." Matsumoto shrugged as she walked by. "Now come on, let's go. The stores don't stay open for long."

"Okay, fine, fine, we're coming." Isane sighed as she slowly followed after the woman; her hands moving to smooth out the slight wrinkles in her pale-gray sweater. She had been so rushed to get packed, all she really did bring were sweaters- which were kind of her comfort clothing to be honest. Sweaters and jeans were enough to make her happy most of the time.

"Good, because those clothes look horrible for you."

"What's wrong with them?"

Matsumoto gave a small roll of the eyes as she held the door open for the other two. "Uh, well how do I put this lightly? You look like my grandmother."

"You don't even have a grandmother… I don't think anyways." Isane retorted.

"Regardless, those clothes do little to flaunt your figure. I know a place where we can fix that quite quickly." the woman continued as she pulled the door closed behind them and swiftly locked it. "And… it wouldn't hurt for you to look into another style either, Kiyone."

"That's okay, I like my layered clothing." Kiyone replied as she stuffed her hands into the light jacket she had tossed on; layered underneath was a striped, throw-over shirt and bright yellow tank-top. "Sentaro does too. He's always like 'Put more clothing on, Kiyone; it's more fun to give myself a challenge when I'm drunk-'"

"Kiyone!"

"Okay, okay, it was just a joke!"

A light snicker escaped the Tenth Lieutenant as she carried herself down the corridor. "Come on, we've got a long trip ahead of us. Hey, maybe we should ask the boys to tag along and get their opinions."

"I highly doubt we'll get much from them." Kiyone remarked as she trotted down the hallway after the woman. "Ikkaku would just say to put on less clothing; Yumichika would say to lose some weight; and Chojiro would just… I don't know actually, he'd probably just stand there and say the colors accent your eyes or something."

"Do try to speak with some respect, please." Isane commented; the last to follow up on the small group. "And, let me reinforce that we're not here to play around. This is serious business."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, tomorrow." Matsumoto replied with a light wave.

They managed to catch the elevator going down and saved a few minutes getting to the lobby before they stepped out onto the busy sidewalk. It was an easy trip across the street and into the rivaling apartment complex; a not so easy trip going up the staircase to reach the third story. She assumed it would've been a bit more difficult to locate their room, had it not been for the white-haired Lieutenant already standing outside of the doorway.

"Lieutenant Chojiro, we were going to go ahead and get a start on that 'investigating', is that alright?" Matsumoto questioned.

"Ah well… I suppose so, if you're up to it." he nodded. "I was about to do the same, just do a basic walk of the town and see if I can't pick anything up. Ikkaku and Yumichika may be willing to join you as well; they might… benefit from some fresh air."

"Excellent."

"On another note, I think it would be best, while we're here in this world to… drop our respective titles temporarily." he noted. "I just wouldn't want to cause any suspicion or have anyone beginning to look at us as though we're in some kind of cult."

"He has a point." Kiyone nodded. "Although it's going to be weird referring to you as just 'Chojiro' now, then again it's just weird to see you overall."

"Just try to ignore her." Isane advised.

A light chuckle left the Lieutenant. "I believe we'll all be alright in this setting, as long as we keep to the guidelines we were given. Now then, if you'll excuse me ladies, I'm going to be on my way; let's at least try to report back to our rooms before darkness falls."

"We will, don't worry about us." Matsumoto smiled with a light wink as she watched the man carry on down the hallway. "Pft, curfews."

"At least try to look like you're going to take him seriously." Isane replied.

"Ikkaku! Yumichika!" Kiyone called as she pushed her way into the apartment. "Nice place. I'm kind of digging the whole 'our interior decorator was colorblind' theme you're going for in here."

"Please don't bring it up, I just got him to shut up about it." Ikkaku remarked as he emerged from the hallway. "What do you girls want?"

"Some masculine company to join us."

"Good enough for me."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I'll have to see about the story becoming a M-rated thing lol as much as that would seem fitting for me, I'm still working out on the couple. Thanks for the reviews and the favorites.**

"This shop smells funny."

"It's called perfume, Kiyone, have you ever used it before?" Matsumoto questioned as she welcomed herself into the store and almost instantly began to inspect the first few racks of clothes that were available; fingers thumbing their way through different varieties of colored fabrics for anything that might peak her interest.

"Sentaro's cologne counts, right?"

"I've never been so worried about you more than I am right now." Isane remarked as she somewhat scanned the overall layout of the store; there were a few other customers here or there and she had the odd feeling that most of them were staring back at her. They probably were. This store seemed more suitable for people of… 'normal' height. Regardless, she tried to somewhat entertain herself with the hanging designs that dressed half-bodied mannequins. Absolutely nothing stood out to her.

Why did she agree to come out to this place again?

"Finding anything?" Matsumoto asked; already re-emerging with an armful of clothes.

"Uh, yeah, I'm just going to give a full look around before I decide to try anything on." Isane lied as she quickly shuffled through the closest clothing rack to her. "Also, just trying to find things in my size too."

"Ah well, that in itself is a challenge." the woman replied. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go ahead and hit the dressing rooms."

"Already?"

"Honey, you've obviously never seen me shop before."

She frowned briefly as she watched the woman cart off to the dressing rooms in the back. How she managed to do so- ugh, she just didn't even want to think about it. For now, she was just going to distract herself by mindlessly looking through these racks with really no actual want to get anything from them. Despite what Matsumoto said, she was clearly happy with whatever she brought with her on this trip; she didn't need nor want anything else.

"Hey Ikkaku, what do you think?" Kiyone called from one of the further reaches of the store. From what she could tell, the woman was holding some kind of… neon-green dress with a missing shoulder up against herself; slightly modeling it the best she could without need for a dressing room. It was, well she should probably be thankful Matsumoto hadn't seen it.

"Looks like something Sentaro would be attracted to."

Of course.

Sometimes she wondered if that girl did anything just for herself anymore. It seemed like as soon as she hooked up with her Lieutenant partner, things just… ugh, well they changed and she couldn't stand it. Well, she probably would've had an easier time getting over it if Kiyone didn't love to publicly announce their intimate details.

"You're really not into this whole 'shopping experience' are you?"

She glanced around at the question and easily spotted the violet-haired man on the other side of the clothing rack; skimming through whatever clothes were over there. A light chuckle escaped her as she moved on down the row. "Is it obvious?"

"Well, you're skimming through the skirt section and unless you're looking for one to flaunt yourself, you should be on this side; these styles are more fitting and the cuts aren't too terribly bad. Still, this human shop isn't really carrying the best qualities either."

"I'm sorry but I wouldn't be caught dead in a skirt." she remarked. "The one or two times I've worn one were complete hell for me. It just brought too much attention to me and I didn't like it one bit."

"You were probably wearing the wrong style."

"The fact that I was even wearing one was the wrong part of that whole scenario."

He carefully chuckled after her and glanced around to see that none of the other members of their group were at all visibly accounted for. "Seems like everyone else found themselves something to do; probably helping Matsumoto pick out another hideous shirt that flaunts her breasts."

Well, as much as she would like to defend the woman, it was hard to deny that about ninety-percent of her outfits did do exactly that. "Well, there's no trying to contest that." she shrugged lightly as she herself glanced around for a bit. "You wanna… ditch out?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

It only took a few more seconds of checking around before they both made for a quick exit out the front of the store; easily evading the eyes of the others who weren't anywhere to be seen anyways. She brushed a hand through her hair once more as they tried to blend in to the somewhat dense sidewalk crowd; although it felt like her rather winter-clothing seemed a bit much for the fall-like weather, she tried to ignore it the best she could. He, on the other hand, seemed easily suitable for any type of weather. His wine-red shirt was just lightly collared and the long sleeves were clipped around his slim wrists. It was a simple yet fitting apparel for him but she supposed he had his own reason for choosing it.

"So now what?" Isane questioned. "I didn't put much thought into this idea; that was the only thing I had going for me."

"Well anything is possible now." he started. "Although, I suppose we could just walk around and get a quick start on this mission; just get a good feel for the town and try to pick up on anything suspicious. Or we could find something else to do."

She looked around at the town walk that surrounded them before she spotted a shop just across the street. Fingers grabbed at the loose material of his shirt as she dragged him out into the crosswalk and moved towards the other side of the street. "Coffee shop."

"Good eyes."

"I know." she mused with a light chuckle as she navigated a way through the moving crowds and worked towards the small shop. The outside was decorated with brightly-colored menus and floral images that adorned the crystal-clear windows. The glass door opened with a light squeak while the bell tied around the top jingled onward to alert the building of new customers. A rush of cool air was there to greet them as they slowly stepped inside. She found the bright-yellow décor to be a bit hard on the eyes but it seemed to match the upbeat atmosphere. The white counters tried to balance out the color combination and were decorated with vases filled with yellow flowers, as though to pull the whole theme together. "I'm sure after a cup and a few conversations, the others will have finished their shopping."

"More like after a few days." he remarked; trying not to show too much distaste for the overly bright décor.

"Don't be too harsh on them now."

"Why don't you go find us a seat and I'll get us something from the menu."

"Sounds good." she nodded as she carefully stepped out of line and headed towards the sitting area; gray eyes carefully surveying the slightly-populated room before she spotted a clear table on the other end of the café. It was a fairly easy trip of maneuvering her way around the tables, although her taller physique might've made it easier seeing as several people seemed to be moving themselves out of her way. By the time she got to the free table, she realized a fairly crucial part that she had overlooked before.

Essentially, since she was allowing for him to pay for her drink, that now qualified this as a certified date.

Was she willing to let it go that far? Well now, she could probably pay him back and that would nullify everything. She would really just have to see how things went and make a move from there.

She was probably just making it overcomplicated for herself anyways. It was a simple… coffee break to escape the chaos of having to shop with the others. It wasn't so much of a 'date' as it was just… sitting down and talking for maybe an hour or so. Just like before, that was just them walking about in pure darkness just... talking. Nothing to get all worked up over or even freak out about. Maybe the whole thing having been sided with the ongoing mission was just rattling her nerves; that and the fact that Division Four wasn't normally sent out on these types of things… she was really quite inexperienced with the whole situation. But, all they would have to do is look around for a few days, just check and see how things were and then she could return back to her Division. And back to a job where she knew what she was actually doing.

Seating herself down, she brought her hands to smooth out the soft wrinkles in the overlaying tablecloth; trying not to seem too entirely awkward as she sat by herself. Hmm… maybe it was bad idea to leave Kiyone by herself with Matsumoto and Ikkaku. The woman had a habit of getting herself into trouble quite a bit. Well, a lot actually. So if anything, that in itself was probably a terrible plan.

"I don't know how good this coffee is so don't hold it against me if it's absolutely terrible." Yumichika started as he set the two cups down before he carefully took the seat across from her.

She chuckle lightly and turned one of the cups around so she could fit her hand more appropriately around it. "You're talking to someone who regularly works fourteen hour shifts and has about two hours of sleep a week; as far as I'm concerned, as long as it has some form of caffeine in it, it's perfect by my standards."

"Well that's good then… I'm not really much of a drinker myself to be honest, only a cup every now and then." he replied. "Did you want anything in yours?"

"Nah, I'm happy with just simplicity."

"Sounds like you're easy to please- that came out wrong."

"Yeah well… I guess you never know."

* * *

><p>"Kiyone. Take that off, it's completely hideous." Matsumoto frowned; watching as the other woman modeled a neon-green dress in the middle of the fitting room. While it did seem to fit and accent her body perfectly… it was still repulsive. And revolting. "I'm serious."<p>

"Are you sure? I like it and I bet Sentaro would like it." Kiyone replied as she moved herself around in front of the mirror. "I mean, I bet it could turn some heads in the clubs. Although Sentaro might not like all the attention."

"Is everything always about you and Sentaro?" she questioned.

"Is that question really necessary to ask?" Ikkaku replied as he leaned up against the wall just outside the fitting area. "You know… I don't see the other two anywhere around here…"

"What do you mean?" Kiyone replied with a short frown before she moved to step out of the small, set aside area. Hands lightly perched on her hips as she peeked out into the rest of the shop. Sure enough, he wasn't lying when he said the other two were nowhere to be seen. "Uh, well… where did she go? I wanted her to see this dress… how else am I supposed to get someone's opinion on it?"

"Uh well, I could give you a few good pieces of advice on it." Matsumoto started.

"Well it's not like Isane to just up and walk away like that."

"Hmm… well maybe she didn't go alone…"

She turned back at the remark from the bald man and caught the slight smirk from the Tenth Lieutenant just the same. It took her a brief moment before she realized what the two were hinting at, which convinced her to take a second look at the shop; come to think of it… Officer Yumichika wasn't anywhere around either. "Ew, you guys don't think they left together, do you?"

"Is that question necessary to ask?"


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I ran out of all my pre-written chapters so now I'm just writing them as I go, which may or may not be bad planning. Anyways, I was able to pass around a few ideas and get some feedback on those thoughts, so I now have a fairly solid outlook on what I want from this story. Trying to avoid it becoming a PWP kind of thing and keep in reasonable expressions, but still have some fun with it. It's kind of hard to believe it's already chapter seven because it feels like I've done nothing for it. That'll change soon enough.**

"Is this the part where we make meaningless conversations to pass the time and see where it takes us?" Isane questioned as she carefully pushed the ceramic cup around in her hands; waiting for the steaming coffee to cool down a bit so she wouldn't have to deal with a semi-burnt tongue.

"I guess." he shrugged lightly. "I don't go on many dates so I really haven't a clue about what goes on. And judging from what Ikkaku has told me once or twice before when recounting his own experiences, I have a list of things not to do."

A soft chuckle left her as fingertips moved to gently push aside her silver bangs. "Same here. After working fourteen hours a day, there's really no want to actually go anywhere else aside from into my bedroom and straight to bed. And I've heard plenty of horror stories from everyone just about. From Kiyone to Matsumoto; Nanao to Momo, there isn't a story that hasn't been widely discussed and cringed over."

"Well then, I guess we're just going to have to work off of second-hand experiences then."

"At least it's a start." she replied. "I mean, there's a wide variety of things to talk about. There's… well mainly work, and… other people… and… nothing else is coming to mind really."

"If you want my honest opinion about this whole mess, I believe this mission may have just been a waste of time; our time specifically." Yumichika answered as he took a small drink of his coffee. "I mean, really? Come out and scout an area that's already been combed through multiple times before? And then make us stay here for a couple of days and/or weeks just for safety reasons? Something about it just doesn't settle well and like I said before, it just feels like a waste of time on our part. Not to mention, this is the worst combination of people to send. When they first described the mission, we were informed that it would only be Division Eleven and a possible addition from Division Four. And now… we've got Divisions Ten and Thirteen with us here, with two members who don't seem really focused on the mission at all- not that it feels like there's much to focus on. As well, the First Lieutenant's here? It makes it feel as though something more is going on. But… perhaps that's just me being paranoid. I probably sound like one of those… conspiracy theorist who panic over every small turn of a leaf."

"Actually when you put it that way, it is a little frightening." she mused. "I personally think this mission would've been fine with the people they were originally sending but… to drag Division Four into it, it seems to act like there's more to it. I'm sure it's just a precaution though; it's a safety regulation just in case. I mean… if there was anything really serious going on, Captain Unohana wouldn't have risked sending me here or any one else for that matter. And you know Captain Ukitake would outright refuse to send his own officers here unless he knew all the details about it. So, at least we can take some comfort in that."

"You do have a point but Captain Kenpachi wouldn't really care for 'precautions', if anything we're here to actually look for a fight." he chuckled lightly. "And who knows what Captain Hitsugaya is thinking, he probably just wanted Matsumoto out of his hair for awhile. Which I couldn't blame him."

"That's terrible."

"Yeah well… I don't have to defend myself." he snorted playfully before he set his coffee aside. "But, let's move away from such official matters, they don't make good conversation pieces anyways. We could try some… more personal topics but I'm not entirely sure if that'll be much of a safe conversation either."

Safe was an interesting word to use. Then again, it wasn't like she really had much to talk about anyways; yeah, she could talk about all the interesting shifts she's had before and there was that one time where the boiler room exploded and ended up putting most of their Division members out of commission. Okay that last one was a little funny to tell but nothing really worth being put into a conversation.

"To be honest, I don't think there's really anything interesting to tell." she started.

"Oh come on, I'm sure there's plenty of things." he assured.

"You should tell him the boiler room story."

She glanced up at the extra remark and nearly dropped her cup from where she had started to lift it. The sudden appearance of a joining third figure caught her off-guard and she had to chuckle to herself at the reaction of it. "Cho, I didn't even see you there. Didn't anyone tell you it was rude to butt into a conversation like that?"

"Well to be honest, now I'm curious about this boiler room story." Yumichika remarked.

"I apologize for the interruption but I was just passing by and happened to spot the two of you in here; I take it that the others are hopefully not causing chaos anywhere else?" Cho questioned.

"It would be a lie to say that I could promise that they're not." Isane answered. "They're in a store just across the street from here. We got a little tired from walking around and decided to find a place to sit and… just kind of observe." A little white lie never hurt anyone, right? The two of them getting tired of 'walking around' equaled out to them not wanting to stick around and shop, right?

"I do have to warn you though, Matsumoto was the one with the idea."

"… Well then, it seems as though we'll be here for quite awhile."

"You two are impossible." she started with a small chuckle to herself. "But come on, you can sit down and join us if you like."

"I wouldn't want to interrupt anything." Cho noted.

There was a brief collective moment of silence before he seemed to lightly laugh it aside. "I assure you, we're just having coffee and trying to escape from the horrors of shopping with the others. That's completely innocent enough, correct?"

It seemed to take the other Lieutenant just an equal amount of time before he seemed to nod lightly in conclusion. "I suppose you do have a point. Well, as long as I'm not intruding on anything."

"It's quite alright, it'd probably be nice to have a third member to speak with; we're absolutely terrible with trying to keep up a conversation." she humored lightly; watching as he seemed to finally agree and moved to pull up another chair to join them. "Did you find anything interesting why you were out?"

"Nothing quite… concrete but there are significantly higher levels of 'activity' around than from what I was expecting. I don't really want to say anything on it just yet until I have more time to investigate into the matter." Cho replied.

"We haven't gotten much activity but… there's still a lot of walking to do." Yumichika started. "Hopefully the levels are just an inconsistency and aren't really high enough to become a threat but, I suppose at this point we can't afford to let our guard down for anything."

"Especially in a vulnerable environment such as this."

"Are we really expecting to run into much though? I thought it was just 'rumors' and such." Isane reminded.

"That's what it started out as but… we have to keep an open-mind with what those rumors might turn in to. Now, it'll be quite a stretch if anything serious does occur; at most it may just be a minor encounter that isn't really worth much but… we can't know for sure." Cho remarked with a light shrug.

"Sounds dangerous."

"Well, that's why we had to convince Captain Unohana to send you along. Just in case something did occur and for good measure."

"Well at least I feel valuable to the team." she teased. "Otherwise, should some kind of battle commence, I'll have to step aside and avoid combat until it's over."

"We'll do our best to make sure it doesn't get out of hand and keep you out of combat but… well we'll try to avoid anything after that."

"Don't worry, if such conflict does occur, you have a sword, just swing it around for a bit; we're not really expecting any kind of high-level Hollows to be out here." Yumichika remarked; almost teasing the woman with his words.

"Well if you get hit, just wrap a bandage around it; it's not like I'm expecting any serious injuries."

"Touché."

"This seems like it's going to be a long mission now, doesn't it." Cho commented with a quiet chuckle.

"I've been saying the same thing to myself ever since we got here." Isane replied. "But I guess we might as well try to make the most of it while we can, before it possibly gets worse."

"That is a terrifying thought."

"And just where did you two run off to?"

Yumichika glanced up slightly just in time to catch the Fourth Lieutenant's expression before he lightly took another sip of his coffee. "And here comes the terrifying part of it."

She felt herself almost cringe at the posed question and forced herself to look up to see the small trio slowly heading their way towards them. A soft chuckle escaped her as she carefully set aside the cup in hand and glanced to the other two figures at the table. "Well… uh, we got bored watching you guys shop so… we kind of ditched out to find a nice place to sit. And then Cho ran into us while he was out observing. And this is where we've been since."

"You sure about that?" Matsumoto questioned with a light arch in her eyebrow; a slight mischievous peak at one corner of her lips.

"You can ask them if you want confirmation on it." Isane replied.

"She does speak the truth. It seems as though these two were actually observing a collective area unlike some people." Cho remarked as he glanced over at the three; a brief chuckle escaping him. "But I suppose it's best that you got it out of the way now instead of having the lingering temptations for it later."

"Did you find anything that seemed out of place?"

"No, not for now or from the areas that I was able to observe; we'll just have to keep a look out for anything in the upcoming days, just to be sure." he nodded before he carefully pushed himself to his feet. "Now then, if you'll excuse me, I have a few other matters I'd like to finish before this day is over with. I do expect everyone here to be back in your coordinating apartments before dark."

"That won't be a problem." Isane assured; watching as the man eventually nodded once more before he made his way out. She turned back to the other three and couldn't help but to shake her head lightly. "Well, at least you brought Kiyone back safe and alive. I was beginning to get worried."

A light click of her tongue escaped before the Tenth Lieutenant spoke. "Well I wouldn't say that we were able to keep her completely out of trouble; she still bought that hideous dress despite our protests and objections to it."

"It is not hideous; it's unique." Kiyone defended before she turned back towards the silver-haired woman. "I wanted you to look at it but you ran off before I could get your opinion; in all honesty, I think I modeled it perfectly."

"… Well that is certainly a word to use." Matsumoto replied.

"Don't worry, I can look at it when we get back to the apartment." Isane promised. "I'm sure it looks just fine… besides, you're more worried for if Sentaro likes it instead anyways."

"Not always!"

He lightly shook his head at the ongoing conversation before he turned back to the only other Division member still present. "So? Did you have fun looking at all the brightly colored fabrics and giving out rather meaningless compliments?"

"Hey man, there's a lot to fear when a woman goes shopping but… you get a free show out of it." Ikkaku replied; finding his Division partner's almost disgusted expression rather humorous. "Looks like you were getting a show of your own too."

"Last time I checked, sitting down for coffee and a decent conversation didn't qualify as a 'show.'"

"Yeah but the fact that you normally hate coffee and crowded places like this says otherwise."


	8. Chapter 8

By the time the sun was going down, they were well on their way back towards their respective apartments. Their separation was quick and practically wordless but she figured it was probably safer that way- although both Matsumoto and Kiyone teased her if she wanted some privacy for a goodbye kiss. Unfortunately for them, she made it back to the apartment before they did and proceeded to keep them locked out until they were ready to drop the subject; needless to say, it was dropped very quickly. She figured for the first day things had gone pretty well, but she felt absolutely exhausted from it all; from the traveling to the unpacking and then walking around… she just wanted to retreat to her bedroom for the rest of the night and call it a day.

Matsumoto seemed to agree with the logic and said she'd rather start on her beauty sleep anyways.

Kiyone, on the other hand, seemed far more interested in the cable TV they had and promised that she'd go to bed in a few hours; she just wanted to see what was playing first. That alone was a bad idea but she decided not to argue it.

Closing her bedroom door behind her, she gave into a light stretch before she walked over to where she had hung her bag from the closet doorknob. Shuffling around in the semi-empty bag, it took her a few moments before she was able to plunk free the book she had packed along with her. It probably wouldn't hurt to get some reading in, after all it always relaxed her enough before bed. She started to undress out of her day clothing before she remembered the open blinds to her window; yeah, because she really wanted to give the outside streets a nice little show. A light chuckle escaped her as she walked over to fix the problem just before she paused lightly and peeked out into the streets; well… more like out into the apartment room across from her.

The Eleventh Division man seemed to be milling around before Ikkaku showed up in the doorway; a few words were exchanged before what seemed like a short chase was invoked. Shaking her head, she carefully closed the blinds before she walked back to her bed. Hands removing the day clothes she had chosen before she lightly folded them and set them aside; she didn't really care much for what she slept in and simply pulled a wrinkled-gray tank-top from the dresser and slipped into it. The light squeak of the mattress as she climbed onto it seemed to coincide with whatever Kiyone was watching in the living room; hopefully she would remember to keep the volume down so the rest of them could sleep.

Who was she kidding. There was always that fifty-fifty chance of her sleeping or staying awake for a majority of the night.

Well, maybe then she could finish this book.

"Kiyone! Turn the TV down!"

"But the movie's getting good!"

A soft roll of her eyes followed the shouted words as she tried to immerse herself into the soft covers and lay the book open in front of her. It seemed like it was going to be a long night just the same… Well hopefully tomorrow would come with more excitement.

* * *

><p>The neon numbers of the nearby digital clock flashed on and off to let her know it was five in the morning when the first sweat-drenched nightmare pulled her from her sleep. It took her a few forcibly calming moments before she was able to convince herself that she wasn't asleep anymore and that the terrible dream had been cut short. A heavy sigh escaped her as she moved one hand to cradle the curve of her forehead; fingertips lightly massaging the tender flesh as a headache began to pull free from the sudden rush of movement.<p>

Shaking her head, she moved to get out of bed before she took note of the bundled figure next to her; continuing to shake her head further when she easily spotted the mess of blonde hair that wasn't completely covered by a smothering pillow. Of course, only Kiyone would stay up through the night watching horror movies only to realize that when she did want to go to bed… she didn't want to sleep alone. As much as the woman loved scary movies, she didn't really have the stomach for them and was, most of the time, easily frightened.

She carefully reached over and pulled the pillow from her face to reduce the risk of her actually suffocating herself before she removed own body from the bed; readjusting the blanket to cover the woman more fittingly. Carefully moving about her room, she grabbed a new set of clothes from the dresser and stepped out into the connecting hallway. A morning shower would get rid of the nightmare sweat and… well she guessed she could start the day off with a little investigating. It certainly wouldn't hurt to get some work done ahead of time so she could have a few more free hours later. She didn't really have anything planned for those hours but she still felt like she wanted them.

"_Oh you know exactly what you want with those hours."_

Gods, she could actually hear Matsumoto's voice in her head; teasing her about this whole 'situation' with Yumichika. Although, in all honesty, she wasn't entirely sure what she wanted from that either. Well… he was good-looking, he respected her and there was always plenty of compliments to go around; they had great chemistry together and she always had a good time around him… she guessed it just had a lot to do with the fact that they were more like acquaintances before, moving on to being friends but… she guessed one of them bent somewhere along the way; breaking that very fragile and very tiny line that separated the options.

Not that she was entirely complaining. Or really complaining at all.

She… she liked him enough.

The warm water all around her was refreshing against her skin and helped to bring the new day closer and closer. Not to mention, it helped to enlighten her senses and pull her completely from the barely-hanging thread of sleep that remained. She almost hated having to cut off the water and eventually make her way back out.

Today's apparel consisted of wide leg pants that seemed to loosely flutter around her ankles; the black material reminded her a lot of her Shinigami uniform, which was a reason why she liked the style of them so much. The other reason was that they did a fairly decent job at hiding a bit of her height just as well as they left much of her legs to be lost in the fabric. A faded-silver blouse was tightly pulled off around the shoulders but fell loosely around her elbows to give off more of an elegant, draped-look to them; the silk-like blouse lightly clung to her upper body and gave sight to her slim waistline- although she didn't really appreciate the cling it gave to her breasts as well; it felt like it gave them far too much attention even though the blouse kept them fully covered.

Well, if she could get out before Matsumoto caught her in it, then she would probably remain satisfied with the clothed-look. She just… she wasn't one for flashy or revealing clothing; it took her months before she gave in and eventually bought a bathing suit for the annual trip to the beach and even then she picked the one with the most coverage.

Carefully pulling the apartment door closed behind her, she locked it up and continued on her way down the corridor. The apartment building appeared fairly massive on the outside but once indoors, it gave way to a more enclosed décor- something she wasn't entirely appreciative of either. But, it was a fairly nice place so far so she guessed she didn't really have much to complain about. The corridors, elevator and the front lobby were all relatively empty with the exception of the front clerk who seemed on the verge of passing out anyways. She tried to close the front door as quietly as she could so not to startle him by accident.

Stepping out into the morning atmosphere, she enjoyed the cooling breeze and the faint sense of the morning sun in the far distance. The slightly cloudy overcast helped to keep her relatively cool as she started down the nearby empty sidewalk. Only a few people scattered about here or there; some of them carrying newspapers and plastic coffee cups with them while others were just getting off recently parked buses. Everyone always seemed to be off in a hurry somewhere as they donned their business suits and briefcases. She probably stuck out a lot more now. Oh well.

She followed the sidewalk for as long as it went before a slightly broken off path interested her more. The concrete pathway turned into a more cobblestone-like trail as it lead out into a largely open field. A nearby sign designated the area as the city park and the sight of the crystal lake seemed to further beckon her closer. The black flat-bottom shoes she had slipped into faired a lot better against the rounded stone than she first imagined; she could easily see herself missing a step and ultimately embarrassing herself with a ground crash- although no one would've really witnessed the act anyways, so she guessed she had that to count on. Furthering herself into the park, she overlooked the open scenery and chuckled lightly as a pair of morning birds seemed easily entertained by chasing one another through the air.

The path curved and followed around the lake to give her a chance for a closer look at it; taking note of the soft ripples that occurred every time a fish swam too close to the surface. A few ducks were huddled by the lake edge while a long-legged crane seemed far more adventurous as it waded through the shallow waters.

She guessed she was more interested in the environment around her that she didn't even notice the second figure that seemed to be enjoying the silence just the same. Hazel eyes glanced away from a pair of flight-engaged butterflies to notice the solitary figure that remained seated on one of the nearby benches that surrounded the lake.

A light shake of her head followed when she recognized the figure before she slowly made her way over to him; taking note that he didn't even seem to notice her in the least sense. But she decided it wouldn't be best to give him a heart attack… he had already suffered through one once before. "And just what are we doing up so early on this morning, Lieutenant Cho?"

His false, human façade gave him amber eyes, which slowly glanced in her direction before a soft smile seemed to come to him. "Good morning, Lieutenant Isane; believe it or not, I'm usually up around this time regardless of where I am. What about yourself? I didn't expect any company till around noon at least."

"Yeah well… I couldn't sleep that well anyways, so I figured I might as well do something valuable with my time." she shrugged lightly as she took the empty seat space next to him. "I figured it wouldn't hurt to get some investigating done since we slacked off a bit yesterday."

"Sounds like a plan." he nodded before he moved his eyes to look around to their surroundings. "… Yesterday, this place was a fairly starting hot spot it seemed for activity; this was where I was getting the most notice in readings… but this morning it's completely gone. I figured there would've been some trace but this does seem like a high-traffic area during the day so maybe it got brushed aside. Either way, I'm going to try and keep to this area throughout today and see if I can't pick up on something again."

"Do you honestly believe we'll run into something?"

"If you want my view on the truth… yes. And I have a feeling we may be running into it soon enough."

She couldn't help but to feel a slight chill rush down her spine at the words while she managed a slightly nervous chuckle. "Well, can't say that that sounds too comforting."

"Don't worry, Isane, I'll make sure to keep you out of the danger of the battlefield."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: A little late on the updating today because... well I pulled a twenty-one straight-hour rush to get a project done yesterday and I have yet to sleep for more than the three hours I managed to nab before class. Needless to say, how I managed to get this done during that time period is still deceiving to me...**

"Where did Isane go?"

"How would I know?"

A thick sigh escaped her as she moved one hand to ruffle through her disheveled dull-blonde locks; not really caring where the chopped strands landed. Shuffling her way into the living room, Kiyone stifled a soft yawn before she walked over the front window against the far end of the apartment. Hands pulled aside the thick curtains as she peeked out to see what was going on; watching as crowds of people seemed to flow from one end of the street to the next in a rush to get somewhere important. And here she was, still in her pajamas with her uncombed hair. Oh well. "So what's on the agenda for today?"

"We should probably get a start on that whole 'observing' crap because that would be the 'responsible' thing to do." Matsumoto called from somewhere out of sight. "But… I was thinking we could do something more fun."

"Yeah but won't that make Chojiro upset with us?"

"Only if he finds out." the Tenth Division Lieutenant seemed to sing as she stepped out of the corridor for a moment; her hands gently pulling a brush through her curled locks while a playful yet all-knowing roguish smile dressed her lips.

She gave herself a few moments before that pesky, mischievous grin came to face. "You're a terrible influence but I can't see myself trying to fight it. What do you have planned?"

"Well, I figured we could start-" Matsumoto started before she found herself being bluntly interrupted by the unlocking of the apartment door. She glanced over one shoulder just enough to watch as it was eventually pushed aside and the silver-haired Lieutenant stepped back in; one hand always ruffling up her almost colorless-looking locks.

"About time you guys got up, it's already ten." Isane remarked as she pushed the door closed behind her with her foot. "You missed the best part of the day."

"Where did you go?"

"And did you seriously go out dressed like that?"

A slight frown marked her lips at the opposing questions before she tried to shake them off with a light chuckle. "I was up at five anyways so I decided it wouldn't hurt to get a bit of walking around done; I ended up running into Cho and we did a few walks around the city for a bit- or at least parts of the city. I figured I'd come back and see if you guys were awake yet. And yes, Matsumoto, I did walk out like this and I did so because it's comfortable and it fits my style." the last sentence seemed to come out more with an exhausted sigh as she merely shook her head at the admittance.

The woman seemed to toss aside both answer and question as she turned to completely face her now; hands still busy with brushing her hair. "Spending all that alone time with Lieutenant Chojiro is a little dangerous, don't you think? I didn't really take you for a player of the jealousy game."

"Jealousy game? I don't think I want to know what you're talking about." Isane replied as she stepped into the kitchen; hands lightly taking an empty kettle from the stove top before she moved it over to fill with water from the tap.

"Oh I think you do know."

"Well I'm not going to acknowledge it."

Matsumoto chuckled lightly before she ran her fingers effortlessly through her hair; she always enjoyed spending a good portion of her mornings making sure every aspect was in perfect order. "Why do you call him Cho anyways? Is that some kind of pet name or is it supposed to be confusing?"

Oh, how she just loved all the questioning.

"It's a nickname." Isane fortified as she waited for the kettle's weight to seem suitable before she moved the now full pot back to the stovetop; adjusting the heating element to a fairly high level to get the water going. "It's not all that complicated. Chojiro, the first three letters are Cho, how is that easy to get confusing? Who else do you know in our Society who shares those same letters that could even come close to spelling out the same name?"

"Okay, that's an explanation but why?"

"They used to date." Kiyone answered as she pulled herself over an arm of the couch before she pooled herself out onto the full cushions.

"You guys dated?"

"No we didn't!" Isane objected before another sigh escaped her as fingertips moved to touch at the space between her eyes. "While Cho and I have a close friendship, we never dated… completely."

The two sets of eyes that stared back at her were probably meant as hints that she had probably taken the wrong approach to that… and she was probably going to pay for it.

"Well? Are you going to explain it or not?" Matsumoto questioned.

"No, it's really quite none of your business." she replied as she half-consciously fiddled with a few of the kitchen appliances around her; moving them back and forth before she eventually returned them to their places. "Look, it's not even relevant nor important to the situation now; it's not even a related topic as far as I'm concerned, so let's just not talk about it anymore."

"Alright, alright, we'll play by your rules." Matsumoto remarked as she watched as the taller woman eventually excused herself and headed back into her bedroom; closing the door tightly behind her. "What do you wanna bet that they've at least seen the other one naked?"

"My first born child." Kiyone answered.

"Seems like a good trade."

* * *

><p>"Yo Chojiro, where were you this morning?"<p>

The white-haired man glanced up at the question as he pushed closed the door behind him. "Well I see that you two are finally awake, then again I suppose no one else really has the aspirations to get up at four in the morning; that of which, however, I can understand."

"Nah, we could if we wanted to; we just wait for you to leave first." Ikkaku replied.

"That seems just as reasonable." he chuckled lightly as he moved himself into the small living room; eventually fitting himself into a space on the couch. "Although I did meet up with Isane and we shared a few hours of talk and observations."

"Really now? I didn't really think of her as much of a morning person- then again, she does work with Division Four." Ikkaku shrugged as he took a moment to step back into his room and snatch a solid-black shirt from where he had tossed it aside earlier. He was halfway back out of the doorway and halfway into his shirt when he noticed the violet-haired man from the next room over eventually stepping out of his room just the same. And he couldn't really help himself. "You sound like you sure know a lot about Lieutenant Isane." he called back to the First Lieutenant; catching the slight look of questioning from the other man.

"Yes well, Isane and myself go back." Cho answered as he ran his hand through his hair for a moment. "Believe it or not, I don't always remain so secluded in the First Division House; this recent year has just called for much of my attention. But before all of that, Isane and I used to spend quite a bit of time together."

"… Did you guys ever do more than that?"

Yumichika frowned briefly as he caught on to what the bald-headed man was trying to pull and felt the urge to beat him mercilessly for it. "Really Ikkaku? Do you think that is any of your business to question, let alone try to find out?"

"It was only a question; there's no harm in asking those, right?" Ikkaku replied; that eerie yet near-evil grin on his face.

A light chuckle from the First Lieutenant seemed to deter their conversation and momentarily displace their attention away from one another. "No, of course not. Lieutenant Isane and myself were never like that; we were good friends and accomplices, that was it. I believe she is a beautiful woman though, I just do not believe that we are completely compatible with one another."

"I feel that way with a lot of people."

"You mean like Mizuho?" Yumichika questioned as he moved to step around the man; barely able to avoid the swing that was directed towards him. "Now is she in this town or is it the next one over? I'm sure if you left now, you could probably make it there before school's out, then you wouldn't have to deal with her brother, right?"

His own trick was working as he watched the man only seem to further his irritation before he seemed to shake it away easily- which was disappointing in the least. "Nah I think it's too late now, I could probably try it tomorrow though."

Ew.

He only shook his head and moved to further himself from the odd topic of choice that he woke up to. "So, what's on our agenda for the day? More observing?"

"Ah well yes…" Cho started. "I would advise to stay close to the park just close to here… something about it seems upsetting in terms of energy levels; I believe if we start looking, we'll find something there soon enough. I will admit, when Isane and I left that area this morning, I do believe something was watching us. And whatever it was, it had yellow eyes."

"… You mean you saw it?"

"I saw something, it was too fast to track and I chose not to engage it; that in itself would be dangerous with only two people present and one of which of us was non-combative. I'd just like to advise to keep your eyes open and watch your back, as well… keep a partner close with you."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Still sleep-deprived for some reason but hopefully it's getting better. I've been getting a flood of ideas for this story so I'm really interested to see where it goes now, although I'll have to filter through some of the ideas and see which ones really work and which don't. Hard to believe it's already chapter ten, it doesn't feel like I've really done much but it's getting there. Thanks for all the reviews!**

"So who's going to be your partner for today?"

He gave a soft roll of his eyes as he stirred through the caramel-like color of the hot tea in front of him; eventually setting the spoon aside as he carried the cup with him back into the living room. "What? You mean you're not going to be my partner? What happened to us, Ikkaku?"

"You replaced me with someone taller."

"And prettier and who has a head full of hair." Yumichika added as he eventually made his way to the other end of the room and peered out of the near ceiling to floor window; the streets outside seemed just as busy and dirty as ever. He wasn't entirely sure if the Society was even as crowded or as busy as these streets were; maybe during the holidays or such but… he still doubted it then. "Plus I think it helps to get back at you for all those times you and Mizuho just couldn't help yourselves when you didn't think anyone else could possibly be sleeping in the middle of the night."

"For the love of- we forgot you were in the same room, okay? Can't you let it go?"

"Do you know what I had to listen to? I didn't even think she was the type of lady to dirty talk like that, it was terrible. I still have nightmares over it."

"Never once before have I wished to not be in a room." Cho remarked as he eventually pushed himself to his feet at the sound of knocking at the door. "As… 'intriguing' as this conversation must sound, I do not believe I wish to know anymore than what has already been said."

"Look at what you did." Ikkaku replied towards the violet-haired man.

"Me? You're the asshole here." Yumichika reminded.

A light shake of his head followed as the two seemed to continue their playful bicker and banter back and forth between one another; he just wanted to answer the door. He lightly straightened out the pinstripe vest he wore over his white-wine dress-shirt before he pulled the door open; not really seeming all too surprised with the three women on the other side. "Decided to drop in for a visit now?"

"Well there's nothing wrong with seeing a few good men on the side, right?" Matsumoto flirted lightly as she leaned against the open doorframe. "But we just thought that we could drop by and… see what you boys were up to and maybe merge our plans a little bit."

"That means she's looking for trouble." Ikkaku warned playfully. "You can't trust her."

"Oh shut it, you know you're always my partner in crime anyways." she retorted with an equally teasing tone before she turned back to the First Lieutenant. "So? What are you guys planning?"

"As I was telling these two before, we should get more observation data collected but… I would heavily advise to watch yourselves out there; I've picked up on a few signals now and again but they were strongest this morning, so be careful." Chojiro answered. "Feel free to walk where you want but do keep track of your location just in case something does happen and I feel that it'd be much safer if you brought someone along with you or moved in a small group."

"So, we're going with a buddy system now?" Kiyone asked.

"I suppose you could describe it as such, yes."

"Would you like to be my partner then?"

A soft chuckle escaped him for a moment before he nodded. "I would enjoy having the honor of escorting you around today, Kiyone."

Isane gently rolled her eyes and waited for the man's attention to shift for a moment before she dug her elbow into the short woman's shoulder. "You have a boyfriend, just remember that." she teased quietly.

"Yeah and so do you." Kiyone replied in an equal tone of matter.

"I do not-" she started only to silence herself in mid-thought; she wasn't going to play that game, nor did she even want to get a start on it. She only shook her head and turned back to whatever the topic at hand was.

"Come on Ikkaku, you know you just _have_ to be my partner." Matsumoto called with a sudden emphasize as she glanced towards the silver-haired woman just a few feet away for a brief second. "Besides I think I mapped out some pretty interesting places for us to visit."

"Well then, I know I'm going to love that." he replied.

Yumichika shook his head lightly and finished off the cup in hand. "Careful, you do have a girlfriend you know."

"So do you."

He stopped himself from making a comeback and only walked back towards the kitchen long enough to drop off the ceramic cup into the sink. It seemed to take a moment for everyone to make the simple motion of getting out of the middle of the doorway before he stepped out into the corridor; locking the door closed behind him. He turned back towards the only one remaining and watched as she seemed withholding of a soft chuckle before it eventually came forth in the form of a grin.

"Looks like you're stuck with me again." Isane remarked.

"And you with me." he noted. "So does that make this an unfortunate situation or a lucky one?"

"I'd go with lucky."

* * *

><p>As much as she would have liked to avoid the park after the warning from this morning… it seemed like throughout the day, they were constantly walking past it more and more. It was easier for her to just try and avoid conflict before it started and take care of what happened after it left; unfortunately again, with this few of members and such an upcoming, potential risks… she couldn't just step around the situation. She wouldn't be completely helpless in battle though, again she did know how to wield a sword and she was an expert in kido-based attacks so that would have to do something for her, right? Given the correct direction, angle and distance, she could probably provide a decent form of back up.<p>

"What are you so concentrated on?"

She snapped lightly from her thoughts and turned her attention back to her partner at hand. "Ha, sorry about that, I was just going through possible outcomes should we actually run into anything out here; I mean, as much as I'd like to avoid something like that, if I don't have a choice I'll have to do something."

"I think we'll be okay in terms of fighters, even if we brought just six; it's not like we're looking to take out a higher form of any kind of Hollow after all. And as long as you'll be there to take care of injuries, I think we'll be able to manage."

"I do hope so." Isane sighed a little more to herself before she watched as they seemed to pass the park entrance once more; it was like something kept drawing them unknowingly to it again and again. "Well maybe we should go in for a little look around and see if we can't find something."

He paused momentarily and looked over at the full field that opened wide to a multitude of playgrounds, benches, obstacle courses and plenty of other trails that seemed to weave off and disappear into a mess of trees. It was probably one of the more decent areas he had seen before out in the human world- although the piercing shrieks of children echoing about did quite a bit to hinder his enthusiasm for exploration of the place. "Well… with all those high-energy… 'things' running about, I wouldn't be surprised that a Hollow would make this place its new hunting ground. But if this is the place, then we might as well see what we can find in it."

She chuckled lightly and pushed inward along the cobblestone path from before; the trail seemed a bit different now, although it might've been from the massive groups of people that they now had to share it with. "I take it you don't like kids then?"

"I wouldn't say that… actually, yes I would." Yumichika answered; watching as several large groups of people seemed to be enjoying themselves around home-brought grills; tables were folded out and chairs scattered around to accompany for all the numbers. On the other side of the massive lake seemed to be a few people tossing around a Frisbee; a small dog yapped back and forth as it chased the disc from one person to the next. "As long as we stay away from those cursed jungle gyms, I'll be able to keep a decent view on the creatures."

"Well that's an interesting thing to call them." she remarked as she chose to pick a different path this time; the cobblestone beneath turned into nothing more than a patch of dirt really. It seemed to twist and grind every other direction before ultimately giving way to a much cooler-looking path; the trees overhead provided a bit of coverage from the afternoon sun that seemed all the more bearing down on everyone.

"What about you? Do you like kids?"

She gave a light shrug at the question and ducked down as a low-hanging branch just briefly skimmed above her. "To be honest, I haven't a clue. I haven't really been around any and… well I don't have experience with them either. It's not like anyone in Soul Society has a child or really any children; I imagine that my greater sense of patience would help me around them though. But again… they're just so small, what if I trip over one? Or God forbid, drop one?"

"I hear they're pretty resilient so I'm sure it would be fine." he shrugged just the same. "They're just so… well, let's be frank, ugly when they're born and they don't really get much better for a long time."

"I'm sure you'd say otherwise if it was your child." she chuckled. "You have some pretty good genes, I'm sure they'd pass on well."

"They better." He remarked. "Although I'd have to find someone with equally good genes, then they would converge into the perfect mix of traits; can you imagine what that kind of child would look like?"

She chuckled and shook her head as she looked over to see where the trail seemed to open up onto a small recreational area; it seemed like it had been completely abandoned as no one else was in sight. "I'm thinking your Wisteria eyes would look gorgeous."

"Ugh, they're honestly quite a hideous color and it would be difficult to match with a decent shade of hair too." he remarked with a slight cringe of disgust. "I'd almost prefer something light to balance it out; something like white maybe… or gray, maybe silver."

"Hmm, yeah I can see any of those; but you know, it's all random it seems… well it's a mass effect of genetic coding and chromosome switching- Nemu could probably explain the whole process." Isane nodded.

"Hell, that woman could write out the entire chromosome process and give you perfect statistics on it." Yumichika chuckled; eyes too busy watching a bird ruffle the branches overhead to notice that the taller woman behind him paused in her tracks.

She watched as he kept going on for a few more feet before he seemed to finally take note of her absence at his side. A light shake of her head was followed with a brief grin almost. "I'm sorry I just… I think it's a little odd that here we are talking about kids and… you haven't even tried to kiss me yet."

"Ah well… you see, certain circumstances have inhibited such an action…" he started; almost stumbling yet not over his words. "I didn't want to give everyone else the 'satisfaction' of being witness."

"Well… they're not here now…" she started as fingers seemed to lightly tug at the ends of her sleeves; it wasn't like she was nervous in the approach, maybe it was a little off but… well she couldn't really describe what she was feeling right now. Medically, it wasn't much but an upset of chemicals and hormones. "Nevermind, just… this is so silly-"

"No, but I-"

She had paused the moment he started to talk but watched as he seemed to do just the same. "But you?" she questioned; hoping to lightly provoke him to finish even though he didn't seem to be working. It took a short glance to notice the sudden tension in his body and the look of pure stillness on his face. "What… is it?"

He took a slow breath and tried his best to not make the situation worse with panic. "Don't move."

"What are you-" she started once more before feeling a rush of hot air spread across the back of her neck; it was strong enough to blow through her hair and push her small braids over her shoulders. She felt her chest freeze up for a moment as the rush of air was followed by the small gurgle of strums in the back of the throat. "… It's right behind me, isn't it?"


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Don't ask me how but somehow I managed to sit down and type out the next three or four chapters in one sitting; I guess it was because it was a string of actions that all tied together but... I may have gone overboard with it a bit. Not sure, it seems kind of well-paced to me but it also came out sounding a bit rushed. Oh well. Anyways, well I apologize for denying everyone that kissing scene lol I wasn't exactly expecting anyone to be looking forward much to one but don't worry, it will happen. Soon. Anyways, thanks for the reviews! Also, as an added note, I will admit that... I really haven't got much of a clue with how kido spells work so hopefully they came out somewhat understandable in written form.**

Despite his words and despite the sound of her own voice mentally screaming at her, she slowly turned back to look upon the face that was just mere inches away from her own; instantly regretting the choice the first chance she got.

Its face seemed to resemble something of an ugly Chameleon as its color flicked back and forth between the scenery around them. Its eyes alone had to have been the same size of her hand as they seemed to roll about mindlessly in their sockets; thick, coarse eyelids barely even used as it blinked every other minute. The body seemed to be hunched over as massive, curled fingers were folded under and the thing seemed more preferable to walk on its knuckles instead. Its skin or maybe scales were still flickering between colors as even in its rather stationary position it was still trying to find the perfect way to blend in. Eyes couldn't help but to note the barbed tail that seemed to swish side to side in a stiff pose of attack. Small, rubber-looking spikes littered down its spine and were slowly lifted in an attack-like position; it almost looked as though they could be fired off at any moment. So it seemed as though it would be best if they didn't try to provoke it in the least bit… which meant she probably shouldn't have even moved in the first place.

Okay, okay she could do this…

She just had to keep calm.

The sudden screaming of children from nearby seemed to cause a sharp distraction as the Hollow whipped its head around to something behind it and left her open for escape. Something she wasn't just yet going to take up on. All it took was a small spark of energy that traced down to her fingertips before she moved to step away; purposely drawing its attention back to her in those few, short seconds.

Massive jaws ripped out in an ear-piercing hiss as a thick, almost green liquid seeped out between the multiple rows of tiny, sharp teeth that littered its entire mouth; giving off the appearance of some kind of shark jaw of some sort. But she didn't have time for observations right now, especially at such a close distance.

"Shō!" she called out and felt that final break of energy as a white burst of charge shot from the center of her palm; striking the Hollow square in the chest before the energy covered it completely and propelled several yards away from her. It would leave it momentarily paralyzed for now which gave them little chance for escape. And she wasn't going to give a moment to waste as she quickly pushed herself away and raced back down along the trail; her hand reached out and grabbed him by the arm as she evidently dragged him along with her.

He was pretty sure he was in half-shock when the woman came running towards him; it was only the near painful jolt of her nearly pulling his arm from its socket as she pulled him with her. It didn't take much for him to follow after her wider steps. He supposed he had forgotten that she was fairly proficient in Kido-based attacks; or at least she was willing to use them regardless. "What did you hit it with?"

"It's just a distance kind of thing; it only pushes it away from the caster so… it'll probably be getting back up right about… now." she answered; noting the sharp shriek that followed almost immediately after her words. "Alright so… if I can get the chance, I can send out a message to the others about this but it's going to take me some time; we can't let it escape out into the public right now or else they'll get injured and we'll just look suspicious."

He cringed slightly at the shriek but nodded with her. "Give me a few seconds and I can provide cover fire; you do whatever it is you have to."

Hazel eyes glanced back and watched as the scenery behind them flickered with movement as the thing leaped from tree to tree; using some kind of camouflage skin to keep its overall position from their sights. "Okay, I'll give you your time; get ready."

She barely gave him a chance to catch up on her words before she released her hold on his arm and turned back to face the moving figure once more. It seemed like mere seconds were given way to a slow motion-like feel as she brought one hand back up; whitish energy circulating once more before it solidified and extended in all directions to cover the front of her. The condense energy was formed into a more rounded-shield look and she braced herself as the Hollow ran straight into it. It was her turn to be propelled back as the sheer power of the hit forced her back by a few feet; digging her heels almost painfully into the dirt path. Releasing her hold on the energy, she pulled her arm back and let the remains of the shield fly off like a disc; managing to nail a small bounce off the flat of its nose. Doing so only seemed to further enrage it though.

Then again, that was probably a given.

"Was that-" she started to call only to watch as he stepped in to take care of the Hollow for now; she didn't know how he suddenly seemed to have his sword with him but she really didn't want to question it right now. She had other things to worry for. _Come on, come on,_ _Tenteikūra_ _work with me here. _She searched through the deep pockets of her pants before she finally withdrew the black marker she always carried with her; holding no hesitation as she already began to draw out the different markings down her arms; showing quick, yet careful detail as she handled each line with precision and care. She had experience with the technique and was almost able to finish it in record time, having only fumbled once or twice to keep an eye open on the battle in front of her. He seemed to be holding the Hollow off pretty well, at least long enough for her to get this done with for now.

By the time the last one was drawn out, energy was already pushing through the black markings as she already had more than half the spell chanted; palms out in front of her, she watched as a light-blue energy box appeared and signaled that the spell had been fully charged. She wasn't entirely sure where everyone was exactly and she wasn't sure if it would be okay to send out the message across the city but right now, she didn't have a choice.

* * *

><p>"So, are you seeing anyone?"<p>

"I wouldn't phrase it as 'seeing' but there is someone on the side that I've been… courting."

Kiyone chuckled lightly as she continued to have her arm linked with his own; never minding much of how the gesture might've been perceived. "I love it when people say 'courting' it just sounds so… old fashion and chivalrous. Then again, that's the kind of guy you are, Chojiro. Or at least, that's how I see you being."

"Yes well, I do lean towards the more 'old-fashion' style of doing things; some of these new, up to date methods just seem… ill-fitting." he answered as he gently guided her around the bend of the street and headed down a new sidewalk. "Why did you feel the need to ask something like that?"

"Oh, to be honest, I'm not really sure, I guess I was just curious." she lightly shrugged. "I'm curious by nature and… well no one really sees you so I guess that just made it worse; I just thought I'd get to know more about you and anyone else here. I mean-" she stopped in mid-sentence and felt her own body come to a halt; it sounded like there was a faint voice speaking to her somewhere in the back of her mind. It wasn't entirely clear but… she could make out a few words. "Do you hear anything?"

"No, nothing in particular." he answered; stopping with her. He watched as her expression went from completely relaxed to something more tense and concerned. "What is it?"

She shook her head lightly and turned to glance behind her, although nothing was there it sounded like the voice was behind her somewhere. "I just… hear something; it sounds like someone talking to me in my mind… I think it's a _Tenteikūra_ spell but they're normally louder. It kind of sounds like the signal's getting blocked."

"That's not good…" he started. "Isane's the only one who can correctly do that spell; we need to find her and-"

She winced as the voice seemed to suddenly snap into volume and almost sound as though it was screaming now. _Confirmed sighting; already engaged in battle. It appears to be a low-level Hollow but something doesn't seem quite right… it's practically vibrating with heavy energy and… I think it's trying to block my signal- shit-_

She didn't need to turn back to the Lieutenant at her side; he heard the message just as well.

"Come on, we don't have much time." he ushered as he turned back the way they had just came from; his hand lightly grabbing onto her own once more when he detached their light hold. He gave her enough time to catch up before they went racing back down the sidewalk; turning the corner once more and rushing down the following street to make it back towards the park.

"Aren't we going to look a little weird just running all over the place?" Kiyone questioned.

"Don't worry, I have that covered." he promised as he helped to weave them both in and out through the crowds.

She started to question him about it but stopped the moment she heard the slight growl of thunder erupt from overhead. Eyes glanced up to see the sky quickly growing crowded with dark, robust clouds. That was near impossible though… it was bright as day just within the hour… how could it have gotten so dark just now?

Regardless, it seemed to be working as everyone took note of the dramatic weather change and rushed themselves along; hoping to be indoors before the flood of rain started. She wasn't necessarily sure if anyone really made it because it felt like just seconds after the first roll of thunder, it was pouring down on top of them. Hands tried to push her blonde bangs out of her face as best as she could, although the constant rain continued to push them back into their previous places; if anything, she tried to keep her feet in place and make sure she didn't fall into an embarrassing slip and pull the other Lieutenant with her. Despite how the sudden weather change seemed to hinder them, it did do its job of clearing off the streets; leaving them a near clear path to follow.

She just hoped Isane would hold on long enough for them to get there.

She was with Yumichika though and he wouldn't let anything bad happen to her, right?

"Wait, how do we know where this thing is again?" she questioned.

"It's right where I thought it would be." he answered back to her as he pulled her straight across the street and in through the park entrance that now stood abandoned; the entire place seemed nothing more than a flooding ghost town now. He paused only momentarily before the rush of energy in the air caught his attention. "It might be best if you stayed here-" he started only to watch as the woman let go of him and raced across the mess of grass and the ruined cobblestone in front of them. "Kiyone!"

* * *

><p>She panted lightly as she stood back to back with him; one hand pressed lightly against the shallow cut of her left arm that showed no signs of ceasing its heavy blood flow. Her hazel eyes staring back into a pair of yellow ones that remained visible regardless of the half-camouflaged body that hid in the tree line in front of her.<p>

He kept his sword out in front of him as Wisteria eyes kept hold on the near colorless eyes just a few yards in front of him. The chameleon-like Hollow moved slowly back and forth on its heavy knuckles and deformed toes as it continued to only stare him down from its hunched position. They somehow managed to attract the attention of a second one which came from absolutely nowhere and pulled off a successful ambush- interrupting her in the middle of the _Tenteikūra_ spell. Still… they could pull this off.

"Okay so… I have a plan." Isane started. "No promises though."

"Well it's better than standing here, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so… alright, I have another Kido spell I can use- however, I think it might just be more effective if, once it happens, we run off in different directions and regroup somewhere later." she explained.

"I change my opinion, that's a horrible idea."

"Of course it is but… what choice do we have? Given the chance, we can separate these two and give ourselves a wider battlefield. Not to mention, the others should have at least gotten that message by now and are probably already on their way. We can't keep ourselves isolated like this for too long." she remarked. "With this sudden… rainfall, the park's probably cleared out by now."

He just… he really didn't want to let her out of his sight right now. But she also kind of had a point there. Out in the opening, these things wouldn't be able to blend in as easily, especially with the rain- whenever the hell the weather decided to change like this. "Alright fine, but… give me some kind of countdown before hand."

"Right about now." she answered. "Sekienton."

The words barely left her lips before an explosion of red dust completely surrounded them; the spell worked like a smoke bomb and flooded the area with a thick cover that would be enough for them to use in an attempt to escape. She was moving by the time the spell exploded and flash-stepped her way down the dirt path; feeling the inch of air at her right side break briefly as the Hollow attempted a blind assault. It was close but not close enough and would remain confused by the distraction for now. She only hoped that he had been as quick as her to get out of there from the start.

She followed the now muddied trail and hoped to keep her footing against the loose rocks as she past by benches and trashcans; a few picnic tables and a couple of small fences that had been put in place to keep small children from tumbling over into deep ravines at the bottom of hills. The trees above her rocked with rain and heavy gusts of wind that caused her hair to whip about around her. She didn't really need to question where the storm came from, she already had a good answer. After all, it created the perfect cover for them and cleared out any witnesses to the oncoming battle.

Pushing herself further, she gave a small sigh of relief as the end of the trail seemed to be coming in view before the breaking of branches next to her stole her attention; another trail curved on and joined with the one she was currently taking. Was there a third one? How many were going to be here? She couldn't even think to find an answer to her own questions before she felt a heavy figure collide with her and send the both of them tumbling downward to the messy ground. There might've been a sense of panic had the second figure been bigger than her but… this one was smaller instead.

"Isane, thank the Heavens."

She pushed herself from the mud that now coated her clothing before she looked over at the voice. Almost disappointed to see that it wasn't who she had expecting it to be. "Cho… well at least you found us; or me at least."

"Yes well, it took awhile to get your message." he replied as he got himself to his feet before he pulled her up along with him. "Where are they?"

"One's probably back down that trail; the other's in the other direction from here." she answered.

"And where's Yumichika?"

"We split up in an attempt to… get rid of these things but I'm not entirely sure if it's going to work out as well as it did in my head." she replied. "But, there's two of them now; I don't know where the other one came from but it's-" a sharp shriek from nearby seemed to be paired with the heavy thumping of feet; her eyes caught sight of its half-merged form nearly galloping down the muddy trail towards them. "Right there."

"Head back into the park, I'll take care of this one."

She nodded and started towards the trail opening that eventually gave way to the park itself. The open field seemed to be a little 'reassuring', at least out here she could use larger Kido spells without running the risk of injuring herself in the process. For once, things seemed to be working in her favor. Fingertips touched lightly at the open gash on her left arm; the blood had soaked through her sleeve and ultimately ruined the shirt now. That second Hollow had ambushed her in the middle of her spell and managed to cut her arm when she was attempting to evade the attack. It wasn't bad in the least sense but it stung like hell; it felt like her skin itself was burning and the flesh around the wound was turning an almost purple-like color. Something must be in the creature's claws, some kind of poison of some sort. She wasn't worried for it though, it would just take a simple healing technique to clean the wound out and cleanse her system of any type of poison.

"Isane!"

She looked up at the call and watched as the other two raced themselves across the open field. "Matsumoto, Ikkaku, what-" the sharp force of something embedding itself into her side interrupted her and the flood of shock afterwards nearly brought her to her knees. Fingers reached for the source and felt the elongated spikes that had penetrated into the soft tissue of her left side, just below her ribcage- actually one of them might've been stuck between a rib or two. Seeing as it felt like she nearly couldn't move, the spikes must've been stuck in at least two or three inches; penetrating in through her muscle wall and rupturing the thick strands of tissue. She barely turned in time to see an image in the trees shift as yet another one crept its way along; several spikes missing from its spine.

It's massive jaw opened as an airy hiss escaped from its throat.

She almost took too much pride in watching as the simple Shakkahō spell fired from one hand and successfully managed to incinerate the inside of the Hollow's mouth; blowing out pieces and chunks of its tongue and gum; leaving shards of teeth to blow out in all directions. A sharp shrill of a voice left the creature as it darted off for a second of retreat.

"Ah shit girl, remind me not to get on your bad side." Ikkaku remarked as the two finally drew closer.

"Oh Gods, let me see those." Matsumoto cringed; pushing the bald man aside as she went to attend to the numerous spikes that peaked out from her side.

"They're not bad." Isane started. "They burn like hell but they've managed to avoid hitting any major arteries, organs or essential pressure points. Seeing as they're just penetration wounds, the bleeding's minimal so I won't have to worry too much about those."

"Let's get back to the part where it hurts and it kind of makes me want to puke just looking at them."

* * *

><p>He really wished she would have at least given him more of a heads up rather than what she did do. Still though, it seemed to be working as the Hollow in chase was far behind him now. He could only hope the same would go for her; hopefully she was able to evade its grasp and get away.<p>

Carrying himself along the dirt trail, he made careful treads and only used a few burst of flash-stepping every now and again; trying not to lose his footing although it had happened nearly once or twice already. It probably wouldn't be such a hassle if he didn't have to carry his sword in one hand but hell it wasn't like he was just going to drop it now; he still wanted to use it in decapitating one of those motherfuckers. Rushing his way past benches and scattered remains of abandoned objects, he glanced back only long enough to see if the Hollow was in sight yet; he swore a brief flicker in his sight might've been it but it could've easily just been the rain all the same. Maybe he was just making himself paranoid about its location. Or maybe he was just being observant. Either or.

By the time he turned back, the sight of the figure in front of him was too late and he couldn't deter himself from running head on into them. The collision was sharp and almost painful, although the mess of collapsing to the ground was a bit worse with the mud and loose rocks all around. He felt the skin of his palms being easily sliced open when he attempted to push himself up; more curious as to where his sword flew off to rather than who the person underneath him was.

"You're not Isane."

He turned back at the voice to notice the shorter, blonde-haired sister counterpart instead. "Unfortunately, neither are you. Are you okay?"

"Well I'm covered in mud and I think I landed on a stone but I'm good." Kiyone nodded; watching as he leaned away for a moment to grasp at the sword that had been knocked aside from the run-in. She glanced past him as something seemed to shift in the distance. It must've been the rain but she swore she just saw something moving in the trees.

Fingertips were barely on the decorated hilt of his sword before he watched as the air above him flickered. In seconds, it seemed like the chasing Hollow was on top of him as its massive jaw closed down on his wrist; forcing what felt like hundreds of needle-like teeth into his hand and forcing his grip to loosen from the hilt. As soon as it bit down it released and revealed the near mangled mess of tissue as partial bone stuck through the sliced flesh. There was barely any time for a reaction before the jaw lunged once more; embedding itself into the curve of his shoulder and nearly breaking his collarbone from the force. Blood flooded downward from where its teeth embedded themselves once more; stripping away the material of his shirt and the multiple layers of flesh underneath.

He could see the injuries but the oddest sense came when there wasn't the least bit of pain in them. Claws pressed into the curve of his back and tore down through his side to split through inches of vulnerable flesh. The bite was from the back though and inhibited him from turning in any kind of way to defend himself or to move without so much as ripping off his shoulder from the socket and tearing his clavicle out while he was at it.

And despite all of that, the woman underneath still reached up and locked her hands against the face of the creature; wrapping her fingers around its smaller skull.

"Sōkatsui!" Kiyone shouted; watching as a mass of blue energy collected between her hands before the energy ultimately erupted into the creature's skull. It was a mess of chunks and other fragments she didn't want to deal with as the energy traveled between her hands before it blew out of the back of the Hollow's head; emptying out whatever was on the inside and decimating what could've once been called a head. She winced as she pulled her hands away from the gory mess and looked at the thick, mucus-like blood that coated her fingers. "Ugh, I hope you like being headless, you freak."

He glanced back as the heavy body eventually toppled off; blood squirting out of the seam of its neck before the form eventually evaporated into a faint mist. "Shit… remind me to keep on your good side from now on."

"Yeah well, I couldn't just let Isane's boyfriend get mauled to hell." she shrugged lightly as she slowly pulled herself out from beneath him. "Let me see."

He could barely bend his fingers anymore, or at least what seemed to be left of them as the mangled flesh wouldn't hang on for long. And whatever the hell was left of his shoulder only continued to spill blood outward and stain its way down his chest and all over the place. "Shit, how the hell could that one thing do so much damage?"

"I'm actually quite surprised that you're not screaming right now. Because if that was me in your place, I'd be in tears and probably throwing up." Kiyone remarked.

"I don't know… I can't really feel any of it… those things must have some kind of bacteria that renders you unable to feel pain, which is really quite a terrible thing." he started as he attempted to get back to his feet; surprisingly enough it went well even with the slight form of nausea that followed it. "Come on, we have to get going and regroup."

"Okay but if you pass out on me, I might have to leave you." she reminded as she picked up his sword and handed it over to him. "Then again, Isane would kill me if I did that too…"

"Let's just uh… let's not worry about what Isane's going to do to the both of us."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: A shorter break compared to the chapter before and compared to the next one as well.**

The sharpened end of the barbed tail sliced easily through the rainy air and embedded itself into his abdomen for that split second when he wasn't focused. He could feel the flesh gave away freely while the muscle walls underneath took the brute of the hit; they contracted inward in an attempt to keep his vital organs unharmed. One hand moved quick to grab a hold of the slim tail while the other swung in to amputated the barb from the tail itself; listening to the sharp shriek that followed afterward as the severed limb whipped about madly and sprayed blood all over the environment. Despite not wanting to, he tore the barbed from its implanted position and tossed it aside into the brush; eyes keeping better track of the flickering form.

Despite its medium size and slender built, the Hollow could pack a hit and followed through with enough force to do massive damage. Not to mention a few close encounters with the jaws proved that the multitude of teeth inside were not to be messed with either; his blade was all the more welcoming to cut a few of those teeth from the gum line though. The creature moved with careful steps as legs reached from tree to tree and moved to encircle around him; looking for an opening that wasn't going to be there. He stepped back slightly and watched as those yellow eyes followed him. Another brief hiss escaped the creature, signaling another strike as it moved to push itself from the tree and into the air towards him.

A louder crash of thunder erupted overhead as he brought his sword up in time to catch the creature in mid-air; sinking the blade into the fleshy spot just below the ribcage. Catching the hilt with both hands, he swung with his body and sent the Hollow crashing into the ground; one foot planting itself on the thin underbelly as he tore the blade free only to impale it back in through the ribcage- breaking any and all bones that remained in his way. He forced the sword in as far as it would and watched as the creature thrashed about underneath him; trying to avoid the flailing of claws that followed with every convulsion. Twisting the blade one way, he listened to the satisfying crack before he tore the sword into a new direction; repeating the motion again and again until the body underneath him became still and eventually dissipated into thin air.

One hand moved to push the wet bangs from his hair before he checked his surroundings for any other movement; moving only when he was satisfied that the small area had been cleared. Shaking his head lightly, he followed the trail back out towards the park. One hand touched at the brief abdomen injury; feeling the warmth of blood as it flooded through his fingers and continued downward. It was hopefully shallow although the pain and stiffness that affected him with every movement said it ruptured something. Still, he could move and that was all he needed. Pushing himself further to the exit, he watched as three figures eventually came into view; one of them resting back against the nearest tree.

"Matsumoto, Ikkaku, I'm glad to see you could join the fight." Cho started as he emerged from the trail. "I've dispatched one of them but the energy readings are going off the charts; there's plenty more to be had around here."

"We just spotted another one not too long ago." Ikkaku nodded. "It doesn't make sense though, why so many in one area?"

"Maybe it was a trap?" Matsumoto suggested.

"I don't know, the largest collection of people were probably here today; they were just here to hunt the easy ones." Isane replied; keeping one hand pressed against her injured side where the spikes continued to remain. "It would explain why they were here but… I don't know why there's this great of numbers; normally it's just one big one, right?"

"We won't know for now so let's just focus on keeping ourselves in fit conditions for now." Cho remarked before he took notice of the silver-haired woman's slightly hindered position. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"I got hit a little while ago, it's just from the spikes and they're not all too deep." she answered. "They'll be easy to heal when we get the chance. What about you? That looks like blood."

"It's not serious; a minor hit when I was distracted." he brushed off before he looked over the small group once more. "Where's Yumichika or Kiyone? They should've regrouped by now…"

Matsumoto shook her head. "We haven't seen either of them come by. Maybe they went some place else? This park can't be all that big right?"

"I'm pretty sure it's massive but that's just me." Ikkaku replied. "I'll go look for them and bring them back as soon as I can; you three stay grouped as best you can and… try not to get separated or anything; that's only going to make this mess a whole lot worse."

"Oh don't worry about us, Baldy; we know." Matsumoto remarked.

"Just try to find Kiyone, please; she doesn't have a lot of battle experience and I'm pretty sure she's clueless in a situation like this." Isane started. "Hopefully Yumichika found her but even then… I just don't want anything to happen to her."

"Don't worry, if Yumichika has her, she's in good hands."

* * *

><p>"How many do you see?" Kiyone shouted; trying to be heard over the growing roar of thunder overhead. Her hands clasped tightly around her sword as she tried to keep up with the rush of movement around them. The downpour of rain seemed to be getting worse and she couldn't depict what was movement and what was just rain; her eyes already straining to see in the growing darkness as she shifted her grip again and again. She never really had much of a chance to use her blade recently but she relied on her academy training and Division acceptance to keep her going.<p>

For once, she was glad to have Captain Ukitake teach her how to mask their swords when in the human world. Disguise it as a simple object at first and then, when enough energy was present, have it erupt back into its katana form. She was pretty sure that's how everyone else did it, so at least they were armed with some kind of weapon for defense.

"Two- no three!" Yumichika called back to her as he kept himself within a foot or so from her; keeping themselves back to back to keep an overall eye on the battlefield around them. "This is ridiculous."

"Oh, tell me about it." she nodded. "Then again, I have two fighting arms and you-"

"I'm fully aware of that." he interrupted. The situation only seemed worse now that his fighting arm had been beyond handicapped, which left him with a fairly untalented left one to deal with. He couldn't even maintain a decent grip on his sword, let alone expect to perform any kind of successful hit with it. "I can only hope that Kujaku won't fail me on this."

"Well if you trust him, I'm sure he won't."

"You see, when you use a word like 'trust', that's what gets me worried."

She chuckled briefly but stopped the moment she saw another shift in the rain; this one seemed to actually be movement and… it seemed to be heading right for her as well. Bracing herself, she watched as its camouflage melted away at the last minute to reveal its true position; allowing for her to reposition her own blade as she skimmed the sword along the Hollow's claws and deflected its attack somewhat successfully- she only managed to knock it to the side rather than fully disarm it. The creature bounced back easily and lunged in at a low angle; its teeth sinking through her jeans and tearing in through her thigh- almost melting the flesh away with its bacteria-laced salvia. Almost instantly, it felt like the limb turned numb and she felt her balance waver before it started to collapse.

The sharp crack of bone being separate snapped to attention as she watched him force the tip of his sword in through the top of the creature's head; impaling it directly inward until it erupted through the lower jaw. She pressed her palm against the flat of its forehead and watched as a red energy charged before it blasted its way through the skin and bone; eradicating everything and leaving another headless corpse to dissipate.

"Shit…" she whispered as fingers touched at the gushing wound that flooded outward and made a mess of her hand and the remaining section of her jeans. "Jeez… is that what your wound is?"

"Not so fun, is it?" he replied before he turned as another one seemed to be charging forward. He managed to step forward out of the way and aimed carefully as the creature moved to separate them; a well-aimed kick managed to snap its neck into one direction and leave its body partly vulnerable as he pressed the heel of his shoe into the easy flesh of its throat. His sword was in the midst of driving through the jaw before a sharp scream caught him off-guard. He turned in time to see one of the things seemingly try to entwine itself with the woman as its tail wrapped around her midsection and crude fingers tore into her shoulders. She was able to fight it off for the most part until one of its back legs tore through the already open wound of her leg; after that, she went down so fast it was almost impossible to catch what had actually happened.

"Kiyone-!" he started only to have the Hollow he had been in the process of killing tear itself free from his blade. In his moment of distraction, the creature was able to roll back to its feet and lunged at him once more. He barely managed to avoid the strike and found himself on the defensive position as he tried to find a more offensive moment; the creature was fast though and kept on him with every small twitch of the muscles. He couldn't keep playing this fucking game! All he could hear was her screaming… and he wasn't doing a damn thing about it. Stepping back once more, he waited for the Hollow to attack once more and took the next hit at full force; somehow able to brace himself against the heavy strike that send a wave of pain down his spine from the brace it took to withhold the damn thing. "Sōkatsui!" the same blue energy that had been shot before was now the same type he used and forced to blow its way through the center of the creature; watching as it left nothing more than a charred circle of burned tissue and missing intestines. The heavy figure eventually disappeared and the weight was lifted from his back.

Okay, now where did the woman go?

He caught sight of a bright red burst in the midst of the rain but it was a few yards off. How did she get that far from him? Did they drag her off? Cursing himself, he pushed off after the woman, although he could barely see much through the downpour. All he could pick out was heavy movement and a sharp burst of red every now again. Eventually though… the screaming ceased and the burst stopped. No… no no no, this wasn't happening.

Pausing slightly, he watched as movement continued which meant a few of those creatures were still alive; they were still present.

Panting, he found that at this point… he didn't care.

"Ōkasen, you sonvabitch."

A bright yellow burst of energy illuminated from his hands and erupted into a bright display of color as it shot out in a massive arc Reiatsu. Anything that stood in its way was cut down easily by the heated energy that could've burned through tissue and muscle. For a split second it was the only source of light and yet was near blinding that everything remained out of focus. There was a few short shrieks as the energy did just that and eliminated every figure that stood in its wide path.

"Really Yumichika? A kido spell?"

He turned back at the sudden voice and watched as his fellow Division member walked towards him. "Fuck you Ikkaku." he muttered before he rushed towards the site he had just finished clearing; giving little regard to the other man. It didn't take too long for him to find her collapsed in the grass and he rushed to her side as hands gently rolled her back over. "Kiyone…" he started as fingertips just barely touched at the bloodied mess that shredded part- or rather most of her right temple. It looked like the blunt side of a barbed tail struck her hard in the side of her head; the small hooks in the tail had caught hold of pieces of her skin and when the tail retracted, it pulled those pieces until they snapped back into shredded strips that dangled freely. There were other wounds but the darkness of the area made it near impossible to examine them. His hands gently moved to shake her in some kind of attempt to wake her up; hoping to Gods that she still could.

A soft groan escaped her after several moments of shaking before fingers moved to touch at the same, bloodied spot on her temple; she hissed lightly when she realized the amount of pain that came with the touch. "Aw shit… what happened?"

"You must've got nailed in the head by one of those things." he answered as he moved to brush aside her wet bangs. "I let you get out of my sight, I'm sorry…"

"Are you kidding? They dragged me away kicking and screaming, I doubt there was much you could've done anyways." she mumbled as hands moved to cover her face for a moment.

A brief sigh escaped him before he turned to watch was the second man knelt down to join them; a low whistling leaving him.

"Shit… I just got done telling Isane that-"

"Oh no, I can't let Isane find out about this; she would kill me and forbid me from coming out on any more missions." Kiyone groaned as she quickly pulled her hands from her face. "Quick, let's just tell her I tripped and hit a few things on the way down."

"I don't think that's going to work."


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I'll be the first to admit, I do enjoy writing out descriptions for injuries and such- even though I tend to dislike typing out the fight scene first. Well hopefully this chapter will make up for the disappointment in the one a few chapters back. Thanks for the reviews.**

"I think they've been gone for too long."

Isane sighed and looked over at the woman's remark; taking note of her slightly panicked look. "Worried now? I didn't think you would miss Ikkaku all that much."

Her nose wrinkled partly at the comment before she turned away from it. "Jeez, you would think with your sister and your boyfriend out there, you'd show a little bit more worry yourself. And for the last note, you know very well that we're not together; there's nothing wrong with having a close male friend without having any kind of romantic interest in one another. That's just ridiculous."

"I wasn't even hinting that and he's not my boyfriend."

"Uh, if you will pardon me ladies… I do believe there's another Hollow just over there who's calling for my attention." Cho remarked as he started to step forward.

"I'll go handle it, after all I've just been sitting here doing little to nothing else so far." Matsumoto offered. "Besides, if your energy gets anymore out of control, we're going to have a blitzkrieg of storms on our backs. It's getting worse by the minute out here."

"I do believe I might have given Gonryōmaru too much control for now; he does seem to be going a bit overboard with it." he started. "But I'm not entirely comfortable with sending you out there by yourself; these things are… they're different, that's for sure."

"Well, if I need help, I'll know where to find you." she assured. "I may not seem like much but I assure you, I can hold my place in battle."

A brief frown came to her lips as she watched as the blonde-haired woman took off to follow up on the distant movement; it seemed like no matter where they turned, they were going to be surrounded. It seemed like this was some kind of weird… collecting point for all these Hollows… but she noted that they all shared the same features and the same look. That couldn't be right, most of the time they had one of a kind designs and forms… but these ones were all the same basically. Did that mean something? "So, as far as we know, we've killed one… but how many are there?"

"Plenty." Cho answered. "I can see their movements all around us; they're hunting and looking for a weakness. This 'breed' seems different, it seems almost intelligent and yet easy to kill over simple mistakes. They're learning though…"

"They all look the same." she started.

"I've noticed that trait as well." he nodded. "Which means we're dealing with something more than just these forms… there's something more to them. Something more, I don't know, advanced maybe? Something that will come out and destroy us the first chance it gets. We'll just have to make sure that never happens. If anything-"

She looked up at his pause and watched as he seemed to be preoccupied with something else in the distance. "What is it this time?"

He didn't answer her immediately and seemed to be waiting for something else, as though waiting for another answer to come to him. "… Will you be alright by yourself? That's actually probably ridiculous to ask-"

"I can still defend myself." she interrupted. "If there's something else you need to go to, just go for it. It's more important."

He seemed to be caught in a crossroad of decisions before he nodded briefly. "I'll be back as soon as I can, there's just something I must investigate first. I promise."

She nodded back with him and watched as he seemed to disappear in the rain in just seconds. He wouldn't leave if he didn't think it was important to the mission- hopefully he found something that would explain all of this. She would be fine by herself; she had plenty of kido spells to spare after all. It probably wouldn't hurt if she removed some of these spikes as well; they were beginning to throb and hinder her breathing just a tab. But it felt like every time she touched one, her entire body rocked with pain and prevented her from advancing much further from that. The sound of a faint shrill somewhere close by alerted her of another presence and she brought her eyes away from her own injuries to look around at the dark surroundings.

And then came the scream just off in the distance.

Oh Gods…

Shaking her head, she pushed herself from the tree behind her and, despite the pain, forced herself in the direction she had heard it from. It seemed like the same one Matsumoto left in… she must've gotten in trouble. Which meant, she really had to hurry if she wanted to get there in time to help.

If she thought running through the mud was difficult before, the side injuries and the heavier downpour made it even worse to maneuver in; not to mention the constant threat of something rushing out at her. Which is why she tried to keep herself going without so much as a sign of slowing down, not to say she was moving all too fast to begin with. It didn't take long for her to notice the struggle ensuing between the two figures in the darkness; even at a distance it wasn't all too difficult to find out which was which.

"Matsumoto, get down!" she shouted; watching as one of the figures almost instantly ducked down just as she had called. "Ōkasen!" the bright yellow beam arced outward and almost effortlessly cut through the air towards the target; the satisfying shriek that followed afterwards was enough to convince that her attack had landed. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, I had no problem fighting this thing, it's just no one told me they would be this ugly." the woman replied as she eventually started her way back towards her. "It's nice to know that even in your condition, you'd still come out regardless. Where'd Chojiro go?"

"He had something else to go do." Isane answered; waiting for the woman to eventually reach her before what seemed like a short shout in the distance caught her attention. She couldn't really make out much but there did seem to be something moving towards them once more… it didn't look like the Hollows though. "Alright, here we go, that should be the others right?"

"Gods, I hope so." Matsumoto sighed as she moved her hand through her hair. "And when is Chojiro going to let up on the rain? I mean seriously? Do we need this much of it?"

"At least it's keeping this whole thing hidden, right? No one's out here watching us as far as I know and even if they tried, the water's coming down too heavily for them to see anything." Isane reminded. "We can at least be thankful for that." she watched as the other woman seemed to shrug and nod in reluctant agreement before she turned to see if the figures were any closer. Part of her felt immense relief when she spotted the three of them more clearly, at least they were safe and alive. "Thank Gods, I was getting worried."

"Yeah, us too." Kiyone grinned. "Also uh… everyone's perfectly fine, so no need to ask."

"Kiyone."

"Ha ha, oh hey look at that, I think I saw Chojiro."

"You did not, now stop avoiding me." Isane started before she turned as movement caught the corner of her eye; just barely managing to catch the flash of the other Lieutenant as he moved by. She watched as he disappeared for a few moments before he quickly retracted his steps and came back towards them. "Cho, what are you doing? What's going on?"

The sheer lack of an expression on his face seemed to hint of the graveness of something beyond their comprehension but he seemed to brush that quickly aside. "I can't explain much right now but… I think it would be in everyone's best interest if you left this area right now."

"Now? But there are still plenty left out there." Ikkaku started.

"I know but… there's a reason they all carry the same features." Chojiro started. "Technically, they're the same Hollow; it's just been able to reproduce its own image again and again. However, I think it's gotten tired of that trick and in about ten seconds, it's going to show its true form… which is all those smaller ones put together into a massive figure."

"What are you saying?" Matsumoto questioned before an even louder shriek echoed itself through the air; nearly splitting ears at its high pitch. She turned and watched as a massive black figure slowly began to accumulate off in the distance. "Dear Gods…"

"That is the reason for why I asked for your departure right now."

"Do you really think you'll be able to take that thing on by yourself?" Yumichika remarked.

"I won't entirely be just by myself but yes, in that sense it would be." he nodded. "I don't have time to explain, just get out and tend to your injuries before its finished reforming itself. I can't risk wasting anymore preparation time."

As much as she disliked the idea of leaving the Lieutenant… there were injured who needed to be healed. It took a moment before she forced herself into a nod. "Alright, we'll be back in our apartment; don't do anything stupid, Cho."

"I assure you, Isane, I'll be quite alright."

"I'll hold you to that if you do otherwise." she reminded before she ushered to the others. "Come on, he knows what he's doing." she watched as they seemed reluctant at first before everyone seemed to force themselves along. Hell, it wasn't easy for her either but she trusted him. He knew what he was doing, he didn't become First Lieutenant just because of stupid antics. He was intelligent and he knew how to solve this problem, not to mention he was probably one of the least injured out of all of them that she knew.

It felt like a mad rush to get of the place and she couldn't entirely tell if it was for the need to get away from the battle or to get out of the rain; maybe a little bit of both to be honest. She knew that, battle aside, she just wanted to get out of these wet clothes and get these damn spikes out of her side. The sidewalk didn't even seem to be beneath them anymore as it only seemed to merge with the darkness around them. She just tried to assure herself that they were going in the right direction. In fact, when the apartment building did come to view, they had almost walked completely passed it before someone noticed the familiar front interior.

Luckily for them, it seemed like no one decided to attend the front lobby because they sure as hell didn't have an explanation for their looks. It was a long way up in the elevator and an even longer walk to their apartment door- even more lucky that no one was walking the corridors; it seemed like everyone decided to stay indoors for the storm and hoped to outlast it from there. She fumbled with the door key a few times before successfully pulling it off and pushed it aside.

"Alright, uh… I'll get some towels and then I'll look after the wounds." Isane started. "Just try and find a place to sit and… don't aggravate the injury anymore than we already have."

"Hey look, I only got a few cuts and scrapes, so I'm pretty much fine." Ikkaku started. "I can head across the street and grab some clothes for us to change into; I have a feeling we'll probably be over here for awhile."

"At least till the storm passes, yeah." Isane nodded. "And while I much rather not have anyone leave this room… you won't be gone for long right? And it probably would be healthier if you did have something dry to wear… Okay, fine, just hurry back."

"I'll go with him." Matsumoto added. "After all, we're supposed to keep this buddy system working, right?"

"Fine just… don't stay out there for too long." she sighed; watching as they both seemed to nod in agreement before they walked out. She rubbed lightly at her temples and tried to figure out what she was doing again. Oh yeah, she was getting towels.

"Here, I'll get the towels, you just uh… work on Kiyone." Yumichika offered as he moved past her.

She nodded and tried not to think that it seemed like he read her mind, although she did mention that she was going to get them before- either way, she probably needed to work on the injuries first. "Alright, let's see what you managed to do to yourself Kiyone."

"I think you mean what those Hollows managed to do to me." she remarked as seemed half-seated, half-slumped in a nearby chair; fingers gently massaging her sore temple before she looked back towards her silver-haired sister. "It's probably not as bad as it feels."

She felt herself cringe slightly at the strips of flesh that hung freely from the woman's face; the blood had long since coated itself and formed a dried, crimson mask over part of her. "Oh Gods… what did you do?" she gasped as she quickly headed over to evaluate the injuries. The blonde woman didn't seem the least bit accepting of her trying to examine the open injury. "Hang on, don't squirm so much, it looks like you might've managed to crack your skull open."

"Why do you say that like it's my fault?"

"What? No, I just… ugh, just stay still and let me heal this." Isane sighed as she carefully lit her hands with the soft, baby-blue energy that was prevalent during healing techniques. It was a slow moving process as she wanted to make sure there was no room for errors or mishap for such a serious looking wound. Her sister seemed to be becoming increasingly either bored or agitated by the wait and squirmed slightly in the chair. "Do you think these injuries are easy to heal?"

"Ha, you should see the one on my leg then."

"What one on your leg?"

"Nothing, Nevermind."

He chuckled lightly to himself at their light bicker even in the heart of the situation; luckily the injuries seemed to pass over well enough… or at least the woman hadn't given herself time to panic just yet. She was probably going to wait for the thing to pass over and for everyone else to stabilize before she did so. He set the small stack of towels on the couch in plain sight for her to see before he took one and headed back towards the small bathroom. The small medicine cabinet over the sink offered a mirror to look in, although he almost regretted in doing so as the sight of what was left of his shoulder was beyond nauseating. The skin looked as though it had been peeled clean off with some kind of chemical; leaving little more than the bloodied muscular base underneath to be revealed, even then definite teeth impressions were left in the torn tissue. He swore for a moment it looked like the white of his collarbone could be seen but that might've just been a piece of his shirt stuck in the mess. It took some careful maneuvering but he managed to wrestle what was left of the fabric off and tossed it into the nearby waste bin. Ugh, he had forgotten completely about the cuts on his back which tore through his skin in ragged, uneven streaks; they cut nearly clean through the tissue as well. Hideous.

"Kiyone, how did you even- that's the last time I let you out of my sight."

"Oh come on, Yumichika's injured too and I don't see you yelling at him."

"I'd much prefer to not be brought into this." he called back before he took the towel from where he had draped it momentarily over the sink and dried off what he could without touching the still fresh wound. His hair was going to be an absolute mess when it dried and he fully hoped that the wounds wouldn't scar but if they did… well he didn't really have a choice on the matter. Damn, he should be glad he even still had his shoulder and arm to begin with. Sighing quietly to himself, he gently plucked the feathers from his eyelid and let them drift slowly into the messy sink below.

She sighed faintly as she eventually finished healing all of the woman's open injuries, which lucky after removing some of the blood didn't turn out as badly as she had first imagined; she would just keep an eye on them for the next few days and make sure everything settled out. She watched as her sister eventually got to her feet and said something about going to change her own clothing before she disappeared off to her bedroom. Hopefully she would decided to rest while she was in there as well. Shaking her head, she walked back towards the couch and grabbed the closest towel; running it quickly over to try and at least dry her hair some so she didn't have to deal with constant streams of water running down her face. "Alright, your turn next… where'd you go?"

"Sorry about that, I was in here trying to make myself seem somewhat decent." he called. "It seems as though I got hit quite a bit more than I was willing to remember."

"Yeah, I guess it did get pretty rough out there." she started as she walked across the small living room and into the short corridor. She was barely in the doorway when she first laid sight on the small massacre that remained of his right shoulder; tempted to keep on going and bypass the injury completely. "What on Earth…"

"Turns out you really shouldn't let those things bite you." he replied; watching as a sense of shock and horror might've been prevalent on her face. "It also didn't appreciate me going for my sword either."

She tried not to seem so grimacing as she approached the injury; keeping her fingertips light and just barely touching the swollen flesh as she looked at the wound up close. It certainly did seem like some kind of… liquid of some sort melted the skin away but the teeth impressions that tore through the thick muscle tissue said otherwise. "Oh jeez… here, this might take a little while."

Okay so that might've been a bit of an understatement as she took even more precaution with this injury; watching as the skin eventually seemed to regenerate itself over the wound and seal itself completely over. The tissue always came back a little paler but in time it would smooth out and resume its current tone. She took her time in making sure that it healed properly and would leave almost little to no scars in its wake. When it seemed like it was in a good standing, she moved her hands away and tried to examine it a little bit further, only choosing then to be satisfied with the procedure. She was quick to notice the bloodied scratches that tore through his back as well and moved on to those ones next; healing them with a bit of greater ease as the skin stitched together almost perfectly and left little remaining of its previous condition. She tried really hard not to notice his rather… attractive physique and tried to keep her focus on keeping the injuries together; although her mind seemed to wonder from time to time as well.

"You really got yourself into a mess." she chuckled lightly as she finished healing up the last of the scratches.

"It would've been far worse if Kiyone hadn't stepped in at the last minute." he replied; feeling the last of the mark piece itself back together before she seemed satisfied with the results. "I didn't really think she had it in her."

"Well if there's anything to know about Kiyone, she's a surprise waiting to happen around every corner." Isane remarked. "Is there anything else that I missed?"

"Uh, just one more." he answered as he carefully showed her the rather ragged remains of his hand. The look on her face was just about all he needed to see to know how badly the wound had progressed; he was almost certain that the skin and muscle had peeled away from the bone itself in some places. "It was the same thing as before, it bit my hand first and then my shoulder."

The wound itself was nearly gone as pieces and strips of flesh remained in its wake; she was surprised his hand was still even attached at this point. She was careful to gently wrap her hands around it, even though she noted that he didn't seem all too affected by the gesture and held it carefully while her energy refocused on healing it back to normal- or at least as close as she could get at this point. It seemed to take the longest amount of time compared to the others as she kept a steady flow of energy moving in and out of the wound to help pull it back together; eventually stitching flesh and muscle back together and attaching it back to the bone to complete the process. She continued to hold his hand regardless, even after the process was through. "You know, Kiyone told me how you saved her from a pack of those Hollows, so I should probably thank you because she'll forget."

"It wasn't any problem, I figured it was just me returning the favor." he replied.

She watched the way she seemed to lightly toy with his fingers and tried to use the excuse that she was just looking them over to make sure the healing had been correctly done. But it felt like it was something different from that too. A light chuckle seemed to find a way to escape her lips as she glanced off for a moment. "It's kind of crazy to think but… it just seems like none of this would've happened if I hadn't asked for that kiss."

"Well then, believe me, these injuries were well earned at that request."

At that point, it didn't really matter how or who started it; it was happening and neither of them had any intentions of stopping soon enough.

It was a blur of reality in some sense. Was she pressing him back against the sink or was he doing that willingly? The fresh coat of rain made their skin slick to the touch as fingers seemed to slip and slide off bodies in some attempt to keep a grasp on the opposite flesh. The thin material of her shirt was already drastically heavy from the rain and clung to her more than before; acting like secondary skin that was just as pleasurable to his fingertips. Fingers tangled themselves in his damp strands as the embrace seemed near desperate on the outside and even more so inside. It was just… it felt like an eruption, a spontaneous act that overbalanced both of their calm-natures and showed a different side that had fallen victim to the situation; that had fallen victim to the given opportunity. After all, there were still no witnesses that would so eagerly provoke them onward. Maybe it was the situation that drove them to this point. The sheer act that what could've once been started almost didn't have the chance to get off the ground just yet. And just the thought of that loss brought this on.

Fingers moved to grasp lightly to differently curved jaw lines and tangle through wet, dampened hair as the heated embrace seemed to be the only thing warm between them. It was the faint bodily rush that came with every stroke of his tongue and every continuous pressure and reminder of his lips against her own; the twisted elongated dance between the two seemed more and more evident as every motion was nearly brought to the point of exaggeration. Maybe the flush of heat coursing through every bit of her veins was enough to seem reasonable; maybe the slight tingling in her fingertips was supposed to be a reaction; maybe the fact that the urge to slam and lock the bathroom door closed was outrageous but all the more tempting to do so now.

But the sharp squeak of the front door being pushed open in the living room was enough to pull them apart in an attempt to savor that secrecy they both sought for. And while the embrace still felt alive on her lips, it was probably best if it was put aside for now.

"Uh… I'm gonna go change real quick." she started.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll go and distract them for awhile." he nodded; waiting for her to make a rather swift and easy exit before he gave himself some time and eventually reemerged. He stepped back into the living room and draped the towel over the back of his neck as he watched the two closed the front door behind them. "Well at least you made it back alive."

"At least you ain't as ugly as you were before." Ikkaku replied before he tossed a small bag in his direction. "I don't know what the fuck you wear, so I just grabbed a couple of things and decided to let you pick and choose."

"And knowing you, you probably didn't pick anything that would match either." Yumichika remarked; catching the middle finger the man threw in his direction. "Did Chojiro not come with you?"

"Uh… we didn't really see him actually." Matsumoto answered as she moved to set aside a few other bags. "I mean, we brought him some things anyways because… he's bound to come back eventually… Anyways, where'd Isane go?"

"She's in her room changing."

"Changing, how? She's got spikes in her side." Matsumoto remarked before she shook her head and walked off towards the other corridor of the woman's room. "Isane!"

He started to turn and question it but stopped as a massive pop raced through the building; the lights cut off all around them and dropped them into pure darkness. It wasn't like the dark scared him… it was mostly what caused such a burnout that had him worried.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: I'll just go right off the bat here and say that I like to imagine that this is how Chojiro's power operates; there's really no examples of it and he doesn't tend to do anything so I feel like that leaves me with plenty of creative liberties to take. Maybe not, but too late. Anyways, thanks for the reviews, hopefully the kissing scene went over well. Sorry for the late update, just got off the road after an eight hour drive.**

The massive form in front of him continued to shift in and out of focus as the Hollow slowly began to collect together all of its remaining pieces; recreating the image of the smaller figures that had been chasing and giving them hell. The kind of ability to simply have one massive form successfully split off into smaller versions of itself was… unheard of- or at least to him. It was a terrible kind of power that could possess almost far too much freedom in its extent; too much power to do as it pleases and at its own will. One terrible form that could split into an unknown amount of forms and no matter how many of them were destroyed, it could simply recollect itself and start again. It was absolutely terrifying.

The process of recollecting all of its pieces left it heavily unstable for an unknown amount of time, which gave him the advantage to attack now and destroy it. He had to be careful though.

"Gonryōmaru, don't fail me now." He whispered as he withdrew the sword he had placed at his side moments before. The silver-blade was already radiating with energy as he held it out in front of him; watching as the sword itself seemed to be vibrating with every ounce of the storm that circled around them.

He had one shot at this.

He already had Gonryōmaru charged to his full extent of power, hence the massive storm that threatened destruction in every possible way or form. It explained how every rumbling of thunder coincided with every beat of his heart; the two linked completely as his heartbeat slowed down drastically for the effect. Lightning seemed to burn in his fingertips and spark as he repositioned his grip on the rough hilt of his blade. A sheering bolt seemed to split clean through the sky and it felt like his skin burned along with it. The same kind of electricity that collected overhead seemed to guide itself straight into his blade and enhance the full charge of energy the circulated through his body already.

"_Keep the storm calm."_

"I wouldn't use the word calm." He responded lightly and watched as the entire blade ignited as a complete charge was reached. "Strike hard, Gonryōmaru, we've got one chance at this."

Pulling the sword back, he felt the way the storm seemed to intensify around and inside of him as the eruption drew closer and closer. Gonryōmaru was whispering something in the back of his mind, the words were inaudible as the spirit focused solely on just the center point of the attack.

A sharp, bellowing shriek hinted that it was near completion as a massive roar of thunder moved to try and cover the noise; forcing a new competition between the two as the radiation of energy nearly put him in pain.

One shot.

A heavy burst of gold energy erupted as the motion of the blade swinging back forward ignited a sharp explosion of power. Lightning itself seemed to drop downward from the sky and burn through the sickly flesh of the still unstable Hollow; bursting it open at the uncompleted seams and forcing apart thick slabs of flesh from its body. The heavy downpour of rain seemed to turn deadly against it as it flooded through the revealed slabs and boiled in the open tissue beneath until it seemed to bubble and burst apart. Several more growls of thunder forced itself through and seemed to be the energy that ripped the body further until it erupted into a massive shower of disembodied pieces.

It's unstable form had little to no defense against the attack, then again he had been charging it the moment it started to rain in self-assurance; not to say he had been predicting such a foe as this one… but perhaps something of that type.

The heavy energy reading of the former Hollow dissipated unevenly and a rush of empty clouds took place of its falling body; the fleshy, uneven pieces of its body barely even hitting the ground before they rotted away to nothing.

A sheering explosion seemed to go off in his ears before the entire environment around him went pitch black. The massive burst of electricity probably short-circuited every transformer and generator in the city; suffocating its need for power and cutting out all forms of light to give the people even more to fear from the sudden out-lash of the weather.

Silence seemed to be the only thing remaining now asides from the heavy pants that drew themselves from his chest; each breath passing harder than the last as it felt as though his chest was closing in on itself. The sheer effect of merging his energy in with the storm around him always played harshly on his health but… there were sacrifices that had to be made.

"_It's always nice to get out every now and again." _

Hands carefully guided the sword back into the decoy item it had been disguised as before as he lightly clipped the new 'pen' to the collar of his shirt; he started to leave only to have another brief shock of pain discharge in his chest and stop him- a soft roll of thunder seemed to collectively stay at his side. "Perhaps so but… sometimes there's too strong of a link between the myself and the storm."

* * *

><p>"Are you scared?"<p>

"A little bit, yeah."

"Have I ever told you how much I value your honesty?"

Matsumoto released a heavy sigh as she pushed herself out of the woman's bedroom and half-stumbled her way into the open living room. One hand half tangled in her blonde hair as she tried to keep the wet strands from her face. "Oh, would you two let each other go and figure out what the hell just happened?"

"The lights went out, that's all I know; it probably has something to do with that storm." Ikkaku replied; feeling as though he was just talking into darkness as his eyesight had failed to correctly adjust just yet and the woman's form was still out of sight. "Although in terms of that, we could blame it on Cho as well. So in the end, the power went out because of him, blame him when he gets back."

"I'll try." Matsumoto muttered before she turned back to the room she was hoping was still behind her. "Well is everyone okay then?"

"Yeah, I'll just… I think there might be a flashlight or something in here." Isane called as she kept her hands out in some attempt to find the dresser; trying to work with her memory to find its placement. "I think there was one in a drawer or something."

"Well at least someone was thinking ahead." she nodded. "Where's Kiyone? I figured that girl would've been panicking by now."

She actually was wondering the same thing herself. "I think she passed out awhile ago." Isane answered as a rough run in with the dresser was a bit painful but at least she found it, right? She shuffled through each of the drawers and ruffled through the neatly folded clothing before fingertips busted even more painfully against a metal object. "I found it!" she called as she pulled the cylindrical object out and tapped it lightly against her palm; watching as a stream of light erupted from one end. She kept it on the floor to watch her steps as she carefully made her way out with the others. "Okay, well let's just remain calm and finish up what we were doing."

"Alright, here let me get the flashlight." Matsumoto spoke; reaching out when the woman handed it towards her. "Ikkaku, you're not injured and you're basically doing nothing right now, so you come over here and… hold this flashlight while I try to remove these spikes from Isane's side."

"That's okay, I can get them out myself-"

"You're really going to tear those things out yourself?"

"What? No, they're embedded in too deep, I'll have to cut them out; I have a small surgical kit in my bag that I'll need and, no offense, but I don't think I trust any of you here in doing that."

"… She's got a point."

"Oh, shut up Ikkaku."

Isane sighed briefly and shook her head as she moved to push aside her wet locks. "Look, all I need is someone to hold the light for me and then I'll be good to go; I just can't multitask with this kind of thing."

"… Okay, look I'll hold the light; you two boys can just stay in here and wait for Cho to get back- hopefully he's still alive somewhere out there." Matsumoto nodded; reluctantly agreeing to the task.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure he'll be here in a few minutes; he wouldn't keep us waiting." Ikkaku called back; watching as the two women eventually stepped back into the short corridor. A heavy sigh escaped him before he somehow managed to make his way across the room and to the large window on the other end without damaging some piece of furniture in his way. "Damn, the whole city's out. Do you know what kind of electrical charge would have to occur for that to happen?"

"Well the fact that you're asking means that you don't know the answer and unfortunately I don't know it either." Yumichika answered as he brought his arms up to cross over his chest. "But if he was able to summon up a storm like this, it makes me think that we should be glad that that's the only thing that went out."

"True, I mean someone could've died."

"Well we shouldn't rule that out just yet either." He muttered before he glanced back at a light knock at the door that seemed destine to prove him otherwise. Carefully moving himself from where he stood, he moved his way towards the door and fumbled slightly to find the locks and undo them before he pulled it open. "What a coincidence, we were just talking about you Chojiro."

"I take it you appreciate my handiwork then?" he questioned, almost somewhat artfully before he stepped inside; one hand pushed the door closed behind him as the other remained at his chest. "Is everyone else here? Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah, we're all here and in convincing-" Yumichika started before a short scream from the bathroom interrupted him. "Condition…"

"Oh Heavens! That is disgusting, Isane! When you said you were going to cut them out, I thought it was going to be a simple cut!"

"I told you they're embedded; I kind of have to gouge them out. If you want to step out for awhile, go for it and see if you can't find someone with a bit of a stronger stomach."

"Sounds like they're having fun in there." Ikkaku remarked with a light shake of his head. "I take it that thing's dead though, right?"

The First Lieutenant nodded briefly in answer. "Yes, it has been fitfully eliminated. I had to strike while it was still unstable… which gave me a decent advantage before it started a full assault. However, we may have just gotten lucky with that gain; if not, this battle would've been dragged out for far longer than necessary."

"Good thinking."

He took note that the First Lieutenant didn't quite seem to be fairing all too well as he acted. There was a shallow gasp to his breathing that only seemed to escape by force and he kept one hand pressed against the flat of his chest, which seemed to jump unevenly every now and again. "Are you… okay?"

"Yes, it's just… I don't perform a strike like that all too often and at that kind of a magnitude, it does do quite a bit of personal damage. It should pass soon enough."

"And if it doesn't…?"

"Well it wouldn't be the first time I've had to deal with a full cardiac arrest."

"Well the rest of us haven't, so try not to pass out or anything. And remember to keep breathing."

"I will do my best."

* * *

><p>The tip of the scalpel pressed into the edge of the penetration wound before it dipped in through the flesh and cut downward a good half-inch or so. She glanced up for a moment and watched as the other woman continued to keep her back to her; attempting to keep the flashlight somewhat settled on her work. Shaking her head, she went back to the small self-surgery and cut in deeper as she attempted to at least wiggle the spike loose- to no avail as the object remained tightly planted inside. Repositioning the scalpel once more, she dug it in deeper and pressed it down along the side of the spike; forcing the blade against foreign material as she cut through the surrounding tissue to loosen the hold. It took a few more cuts and a bit of force before she was able to pull the item free; watching as the moment it was removed from her own energy, it dissipated into thin air.<p>

"Two down, one more to go."

"Thank Gods."

"Hey, you're not even injured to begin with; I don't think you really have all too much to say." Isane reminded with a light chuckle as she pulled the material of her shirt away from the freshly opened wound.

"It's still gross." Matsumoto muttered as she kept herself in the doorway and glanced over her shoulder only now and again. The woman seemed to have no problem cutting herself open in front of the sink, which was already splattered with blood; she, on the other hand, would've much rather not be participating in this at all.

She rolled her eyes lightly and went to repeat the same method on the last spike; this was the one that had been stuck in between her ribs, which she had purposely left it to be last just in case it decided to give her the most trouble- which it probably would. Pressing the scalpel in once more, she cut straight down along the side of the spike and sliced through the mix of tissue and some muscle strands; pulling outwards to leave an open half-inch of space. She was a bit more careful with removing it and wiggled it back and forth to test its movement; feeling the way it seemed to stretch and pull at the membrane around her ribs. However, a swift clean pull ripped it completely free and had the final spike disappear from her hand. Despite the heavy amount of numbing gel she had applied to the area, she could still feel the sharp burn and tear of its removal as the tug of muscles and tendons left the spacing between her ribs feeling raw.

She held her breath for a moment to let the feeling pass before she released it in a sharp rush of breath. "Alright, okay, that's the last one." She sighed before she dropped the bloodied scalpel into the sink and worked her fingers underneath the hem of her shirt; peeling it up and off before it was dropped into the sink just as well. There were deep puncture marks that ran down her side in three gorges; each of the pumping out different streams of blood that stained down along her lower body. "Well luckily, this shouldn't take too long to heal; you can take the flashlight back into the living room. Go check on Cho and make sure he's still breathing."

"Gladly."

She could only shake her head once more at the woman's weak stomach and watched as the light was eventually pulled from her; leaving her in the darkness. She didn't really need light since she knew the location of the injuries anyways. Despite being deep wounds, the blue-energy from her hands seemed to have an easier time pulling the skin back together; leaving nothing more than pale scars and an extremely tender area that would be sticking with her for the next few days. Finishing off the healing process and a few touch ups, she grabbed the towel she had brought in with her and stepped out just long enough to dart back into her bedroom. Her eyes had slightly adjusted to the dark now, or at least well enough for her to maneuver somewhat clearly. Grabbing a dry set of clothes, she worked her way out of the wet, clinging material of her earlier outfit and dressed quickly into the new set. Pulling on a grey tank-top and a loose-fitting pair of sweatpants, she still wanted to look somewhat decent while being comfortable. Stepping back out, she pulled the door closed behind her and headed into the living room; taking note of the others standing around.

"Where's-"

"He passed out on the couch." Ikkaku answered. "Well actually he passed out by the door and we had to move him to the couch; we're kind of just standing around and hoping he'll wake up in a few minutes."

She shook her head lightly but looked up at the distant crash of thunder outside. "He's still alive, I know that for sure; hopefully he didn't put himself into another cardiac arrest; I'll keep an eye on him and make sure he's okay."

"Alright well… I'm going to finally change out of these wet clothes." Matsumoto remarked. "The bathroom's free for you guys."

"Dibs."


	15. Chapter 15

"_Despite what appears to have been the worse storm yet to date of this year, and the sheer spontaneous of it as witnesses say that it simply 'appeared from nowhere', damages have been few and far between. Power was knocked out last night but companies have been working on restoring the grids ever since the storm passed on. We should be glad for their persistency in the matter or else this news report wouldn't be seeing the beautiful light of day that's radiating just outside-"_

One hand lightly dangled off the edge of the couch to grab at the remote that had been tossed to the ground hours before; fingertips pressed into the small rubber buttons and watched as the channel effortlessly changed to the next one available. The splurge of news shows absolutely fanning over the storm from the day before spoke that she might've stayed up too late; in fact, it was probably already too late for her to try and get some sleep now. She might as well stay up and wait for the others to get themselves awake and see where the day was going to take them.

Matsumoto and Kiyone had paired up and took her room, which she had offered at the first chance.

Ikkaku and Yumichika took Matsumoto's room, which she left free upon approval of her offer.

And Cho had taken Kiyone's room; there was that moment of scare where they were afraid he had taken to full cardiac arrest again but… it had been a mere pass over of one. He remarked that he only took a brief moment of unconsciousness and it seemed like everyone presumed him to be dead; he also said not to worry and that the only side effect there seemed to be was a mild case of heartburn. Still… she would continue to keep an eye on him when she could; there was still the possibility that he was vulnerable and could fall victim to a cardiac arrest at any moment- despite his denial of such.

As for herself, well she told everyone that she wasn't an easy sleeper and was going to stay up a few hours anyways; the couch was perfectly comfortable with her after all. And as it would turn out for her, well… she ended up staying up throughout the entire night. It just felt like she was too easy to be vulnerable to a nightmare and she wasn't really in the condition nor mood to deal with one at the moment. She didn't mean to intentionally stay up through the night but… it was one of those things that just happened; it wasn't like this was her first experience with such a pull.

Still, she guessed she could've made herself seem a bit more… appropriate, rather than lounging about on the open couch in a loose-fitting, tank top and baggy sweatpants. But after a day like yesterday, she wasn't really looking to impress anyone.

"Well if that isn't the look of a model."

She glanced up at the sarcastic remark and chuckled as she watched the violet-haired man eventually drag himself out from the side corridor. "Yeah, I'm working on one of those 'paint me like one of your French girls' poses."

"Well then, in that case, you nailed it." Ikkaku followed up as he stepped out next.

Shaking her head, she moved to push herself up and into something more appropriate as she leaned back against the arm of the couch instead. "I'm guessing you guys slept well then. I hope it didn't make anything awkward."

"Oh don't worry about us, it's really quite scary how well we deal with situations like that." Ikkaku replied as he leaned up against the open doorway of the corridor. "Did you uh… did you even sleep?"

"That's an interesting question to ask… I actually kind of lost track of time."

"So… no?"

"Not a minute."

"Oh dear gracious." Matsumoto yawned as she walked into the living in the midst of a stretch; her messy blonde strands barely dropped down far enough to cover the portions of her chest that her own shirt failed to. "What time is it?"

"It's almost ten right now." Isane answered. "There's a pot of tea and coffee in the kitchen if you want it; they should still be warm."

"See, there is a good reason to keep an insomniac around."

"That's terrible, Rangiku." Ikkaku remarked lightly as he pushed himself from the wall and slowly made his way towards the kitchen.

She shook her head and stuck her tongue out at the man's back before she walked over the couch; leaning herself against the back of it as she looked over at the resting, silver-haired woman on the other side. "So? Anything interesting on TV at this time?"

"Not really, the power came on just an hour or two ago and I haven't really been able to catch anything worth watching." Isane shrugged. "There was some kind of movie on earlier about a guy who haunted people's dreams and killed them, but I turned that off because it seemed kind of realistic to me."

"Well, when you put it that way, yeah it does seem pretty reasonable with all those nightmares you have," Matsumoto nodded before she glanced over to where the two other men were sharing their own brief conversation over coffee in the kitchen. "Don't you guys share enough during the pillow talk?"

"Well I could ask the same thing with you and Kiyone." Ikkaku replied.

"Nah, she fell asleep too quick for us to even have a conversation." she shrugged.

Isane merely rolled her eyes playfully and pushed the woman away from her. "Why do you guys insist on having these kind of conversations? They're absolutely terrible."

"It just shows you the extent of our companionship." Matsumoto defended with a tease. "We share a 'special' kind of connection and this is how we're able to properly express it; we don't really mean anything by it- lord knows the bald-headed one can't stand to keep his hands off that human girl of his. You know, you never introduced me to her-"

"Good. Then I'm doing my job."

Now she kind of wished to have that silence from before back where the only other noise was the TV buzzing between every other channel; but this was at least a little bit of reassurance, at least now she knew that no matter what exactly happened, they would still be able to keep in good spirits about it. No one had mentioned the Hollow incident from the day before, which was probably a good thing right now. There wasn't much left to it now and they had all settled with the fact that it was over and done with. She glanced over at another sight of movement and watched as the white-haired, First Lieutenant eventually emerged. Unlike the others, he was fully dressed in another vest combination that seemed all the more suiting for his suave and sophisticated looks. She took note that his false, human façade eyes were faded and left only his natural white eyes remaining instead… it was odd but she supposed there had to have been a reason for it.

"Are you feeling any better this morning?" she questioned.

He turned at the question and nodded lightly. "Yes, in fact, I feel much better than I did the night before; I appreciate your concern for your health, it does appear that everything's in working order now."

She smiled briefly and nodded. "That's good, I didn't want to have to perform another emergency surgery on you again."

"Believe me, I share those same feelings; it's not something I'd wish to repeat." he replied before he turned back to where the others were standing. "Now then, I do believe there is a topic I wish to discuss with everyone… that is if you are all in a suitable mood and condition to listen."

"Depends on what the topic is." Matsumoto remarked as she slowly made her way into the kitchen. "Don't mind me boys, I'll try not to get between you two."

"We might want to evacuate before her safety devices deploy." Yumichika whispered as he worked his way out of the small area instead.

"What is it?" Isane questioned; watching as his expression seemed to change at the query. "Ooh… I don't think I like that look."

A quiet sigh seemed to escape him as he nodded briefly at her remark- a gesture she didn't entirely find comforting in the least bit. "I was going to bring it up later on this evening when I got my observations together but… after what happened last night, I believe it's obvious that this topic needs to be addressed now. I noticed when we first arrived that the communication back to the Society had been… sketchy but I had first assumed it was just a minor detail; but then it was becoming more and more difficult to make contact back with them… until this morning however. As far as I know, connection has been completely cut; I can't reach back to anyone."

The words caused a sudden drop in her stomach as she glanced to see how the others seemed to share her same expression.

"What do you mean… are you saying we- that we can't reach the Society?" Matsumoto questioned. "Are we completely cut off?"

The Lieutenant's expression seemed to deepen even more before another nod left him. "There's something here that's creating a barrier that… we can't go through; it's rejecting our energy, I believe. It's strong enough to repel not just our physical forms but it's also cutting off our communicative energy. Until we can figure out the source of this thing… we may be spending a bit more time here than expected."

"Yeah but… we killed that Hollow from yesterday, if that was the thing creating the barrier then it should've destroyed it- not make it stronger." Ikkaku remarked. "I mean, that would only make sense. So how is this thing able to just pull a reverse on us instead?"

"The only answer I can find is that there are more here that are quite possibly stronger than the ones we faced the night before." Cho answered. "Unless the Hollow was able to leave its energy signal behind and fed it into some kind of barrier net. I haven't been able to narrow it down just yet."

"So, if we can find out what's causing this, then we can get out of here, right?" Kiyone asked as she slowly emerged from the other bedroom; just barely stepping in at the start of the ongoing conversation. One hand gently tried to rub the sleep from her eyes.

"I have a feeling it won't be easy to find if we're even able to do that much, and it won't be easy to destroy."

A long, nearly exhausted sigh escaped her as she slowly brought one hand up to touch at the curve of her forehead as she tried not to jump too deep into her thoughts. "Alright, well… then we just need to readjust the target and objective of this operation. We already faced one Hollow before… we'll just have to keep looking for more; we can refocus our energy to figuring out what's going on and once located, we can format a suitable plan of action against it. Yes, like you said before Cho, it'll take longer to do and won't be easy from the looks of it but… it's better than sitting around and agonizing."

"But… won't someone from Soul Society figure out that something's wrong?" Kiyone remarked.

"More than likely yes, we should probably be expecting a few newcomers in a few days; however, because of communication loss, they won't be knowing what they're getting themselves in to." Cho explained. "Which means, even if they do send someone to see what's going on, that person will be stuck just the same and won't be able to report back; it'll be a continuous cycle again and again."

"I don't like the sound of that…"

"I just don't want anyone getting worried… I'm going to try communications again but I have a fear it'll be futile."

She slowly nodded. "Alright well… I suppose we'll just have to get started on our new objective today then…"

"So it seems." he agreed.

"I don't want to be stuck here forever."

"We won't be here forever, Kiyone." Isane sighed.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: I couldn't resist plugging in a shameless reference like that, I'm glad someone caught on to it. Thanks for the reviews and favorites, I'm really working on trying to get this thing going somewhere- hopefully more romance soon?**

The men left an hour or so after the outbreak of news to return back to their own rooms across the street; they said something about coming back in a few hours and maybe gathering everyone up to find something to do for the day. She didn't really feel like it though, if lounging around the apartment was a choice, she'd probably stick with that.

"So… what do we do now?" Matsumoto questioned, as she seemed to merely collapse into the other end of the couch.

"I don't know, what is there that we can really do?" Kiyone asked in response as she managed to fit herself between the two of them. "We're basically stuck here without so much as a way of communicating back to the Society."

She sighed quietly at the two and tried not to let the same kind of mentality get to her as well. "Look, we just need to keep calm here. We'll have to look further into this matter, see what's going on and see what we can do about it. There's a way to solve it, everything can be figured out; we just have to keep our heads on and not panic."

"That's easy for you to say." Matsumoto started. "You work in Division Four; you guys are all over that keeping calm and not losing it mentality. The rest of us are used to rioting the moment something falls out of order."

A brief chuckle escaped her before she pushed herself from the couch and got to her feet; hands lightly brushing out the wrinkles of her outfit. "Well you better get used to it, because I'm not going to keep reminding you guys of it. It might be easier if you guys went out and did something to get your mind off of it; it would help to settle the stress out for a bit."

"We were just informed that after a fairly stiff battle against some weird Hollow, that there was now some kind of magical barrier blocking our way out of here… and you're telling us to calm down and go take a walk?" Matsumoto asked.

"If it gets you out of my hair, then yes." Isane nodded as she walked past the woman and stepped over the slight attempt of a trip the blonde Lieutenant tried. "Look, I know it's difficult to comprehend right now but we can't just let it bug us down. So yeah, maybe some fresh air will help and walking around would give us more insight on this whole matter; maybe we can figure out where the energy's coming from or what exactly is giving it off… it's better than lying around here all day, right?"

"Yeah… but at least it's safe in here." Kiyone reminded.

"True, which does remind me when we get back, I'm going to make a request that you never be sent out again." Isane replied; walking into the kitchen to gather the cups that had been left behind on the counters and the pots that remained on the stovetop.

"Oh come on! I wasn't even hurt that bad!"

"You were one hit from having a complete concussion; you should be lucky you were able to regain consciousness so quickly."

"That should say something about me." Kiyone called back to her.

"Yeah, you're never leaving Soul Society again."

"Ugh."

Matsumoto chuckled lightly and pushed herself to her feet just the same. "Well then, in that case, I suppose we should go out and spend this time wisely while you still have it. When did the boys say they would be dropping back over?"

"In an hour or so. They're probably over there freshening up and getting things back in order." Isane shrugged.

She nodded before she pulled herself into another small stretch. "Alright well… I think I might get dressed and head over there; I'd like to know what they plan on doing for the day and maybe join in on it. I think you were right in one way, if I stay in this apartment, it might drive me insane."

"Sounds like a plan." Isane nodded.

"… Are you not coming along?" Kiyone questioned as she rolled herself off the couch and brushed her hands over the long t-shirt she had opted to sleep in the night before.

"Uh well… I'm just really not in the mood to get out right now; it's probably because I stayed up all last night so I think I'll stay in and clean up a little bit." Isane started.

"Oh, so first you tell us that we should get out and now you're saying that you're not even going to follow your own advice?" Matsumoto teased.

"Pretty much, yeah."

* * *

><p>"Hey man, you know there are other people in this place right? And we all have to use the bathroom."<p>

He rolled his eyes at the call and finished brushing out the tangles from his hair before he moved to pull the door open; grabbing his shirt on the way out. "You'll have to excuse the people here who actually have to wash their hair- it takes us a bit longer to shower."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, more bald jokes." Ikkaku waved aside. "We're planning on meeting up with the ladies sometime soon and I want to look good."

"Uh, it's going to take more than a shower-"

"Seriously, shut it."

"Ooh, suddenly all about how you look and how you dress and who you're going to impress today." Yumichika continued; further irritating the man as he stood in the middle of the doorway and propped up his arms against the white frame. "I would almost presume that I'm rubbing off on you."

"Pft, I'd probably say the same thing about you; you haven't bitched once about that damn wound of yours leaving a scar."

"Yeah well… I was more focused on trying to keep myself and Kiyone alive and get rid of that threat, so get off my back."

"I bet you wouldn't have even cared if it had left a scar; you'd be more like 'oh my gosh, Lieutenant Isane touched me-'"

He left before the bald man even had a chance to finish his statement; shaking his head as he worked his way across the living room and towards his own place of settlement at the other end. They were only going to be here for an hour or two to get resettled and then had planned to step back out with the women- or at least that was how it was supposed to go, it was still up for change. And seeing how Chojiro appeared to be dozing off on the couch, they might be waiting for a bit longer; he at least hoped the First Lieutenant was just napping and not… dying.

But, the man did have a point though….

The wounds had been gaping and should've left some kind of thick, disgusting scar tissue- which would've absolutely ruined his perfect skin but… there wasn't even so much of a hint of it left now; it was like the injury itself had never happened. And even his hand, which had nearly been chewed off, was perfectly functioning and in perfect condition. It would have had to taken a high level of energy to pull that off successfully, maybe that was why the Fourth Lieutenant was brought along with them. Either way… he supposed he did have to thank her soon enough for the flawless healing.

Slipping on the solid-black shirt he had picked out, he carefully rearranged the still wet strands of hair and briefly touched at the empty space over his right eye; where on Earth did he- no wait, he removed the feathers the night before and probably left them over at the other apartment… he'd have to get them later. And now that he remembered that… another brief memory came into play…

They totally made out last night, didn't they?

It wasn't quite the… perfect situation or under the correct circumstances but he did have to admit there was an appeal in the given embrace. There was that sense of rawness and pure spontaneous-ness in it that only made it more memorable. Although it now opened up different speech options. 'You remember that one time you had to heal me? Yeah, we totally made out afterwards.'

Perfect memories.

Oh sarcasm.

A brief knock at the front door pulled him from his thoughts as he stepped out of his room for a moment; taking note that the other two seemed preoccupied, which meant that he was on door duty now. Walking back into the open room, he paused momentarily to make sure the First Lieutenant was still breathing before he continued on to answer the multitude of noise rocking from the door now. He supposed there was no need to be surprised by the sight of the two women on the other end.

"Can you guys come out to play?" Matsumoto teased.

"I'm kind of busy right now but Ikkaku can come out; he's in the shower right now but feel free to just walk in there- there's not a lot to see anyways." He replied before reminding himself that it was just the two blondes in sight. "I'm guessing Isane's running late?"

"I would hope not!"

"Pft, Kiyone!- No, she just decided that she wasn't really feeling well this morning and she wanted to stay inside." Matsumoto answered as she shoved the other woman aside. "I figured she'd be fine by herself though and it's not like we're going to be gone all too long."

Well, he supposed he tried not to seem all too disappointed by the fact but nodded. "Yeah, she didn't look too well this morning."

"The girl works herself to death on most days, I'm not really surprised by it- not to mention all that activity the night before was probably enough to push her over." Matsumoto lightly shrugged before she seemed to wave the matter aside and set her hands on her hips. "So? You boys ready to go out again and hope we don't get jumped?"

"What a pity, I think that's what Ikkaku was looking forward to- unless that was hoping to be jumped by a bunch of girls, in which case that's never going to be a possibility for him." Yumichika remarked. "Let me just hopefully wake up Chojiro and we can get going."

"Oh Gods, let's hope he wakes up."

* * *

><p>The other two had left an hour or two ago, which would've left her plenty of time to try and catch some rest… if she could actually sleep. It wasn't like she didn't want to, she just couldn't. Then again, this was something she was all the more used to so it wasn't too incredibly hindering. She could at least use this time to do something semi-productive.<p>

She chose to clean up the mess that had be created the night before.

Damp clothing was tossed aside in a small laundry basket- she could get to drying it later when she sorted through it. The kitchen was pulled back together after the dishes were cleaned and put away; appliances straightened back out and the counters wiped down. She went from room to room before she found herself in the small, cramped space of the bathroom; trying to drain the sink of the dried blood stains as she tossed aside the sweater that had been left in there from last night. Fingers carefully picked up the scalpel she had carelessly forgotten about before she reached over and switched on the faucet. It was a tedious, careful task of trying to clean around the sharpened end of the blade- vaguely remembering the sound of it cutting through her own flesh by her own hand. But, regardless of the sore spots that the minor surgery had left behind, she'd rather had the soreness than the embedded spikes any day.

Yeah and maybe she'd choose him kissing her over anything else any day too.

She heard herself chuckling at her own words and stopped what she was doing to try and recompose herself. Oh Kotetsu, what are you getting yourself in to?

The sharp knock on the apartment door drew her attention away from her half-laughed at thoughts as she pushed herself away from the sink and glanced out of the door; as though peering into the half-cleaned living area was supposed to answer anything for her. A brief frown caught up to her as she slowly pushed herself from the bathroom and eased her way to the front door; she hadn't been expecting anyone and people around here didn't normally go about and knock on random apartments, not to mention the other two took separate keys with them so there would be no need to knock- unless it was one of the guys, but even then they would've been offered a key. She supposed it was just her nerves playing on her a bit seeing as she was the only one present in the apartment for now and after last night, well it just felt like anything and everything could happen at any given moment.

Unlocking the door, really against her better judgment, she pulled it open just enough for an arm's length distance before she pushed it open wider at the sight of the two women on the other side. "Uh… Nanao? Momo? What are you two doing here?"


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: There is more romance to come, I promise; I just like setting up some of the ongoing plot first and then dive into the rest. Someone mentioned that I often times just drive the plot through the couple, which makes for a less interesting story, so I'm trying to see if I can't fix that. And if it doesn't work, at least I tried, right?**

It was easy to tell that the Eighth Division Lieutenant seemed none too pleased about something as fingertips moved to hastily push up on her now red-framed glasses; a brief wrinkle of her nose and downward tuck of her lips only seemed to further that expression.

"I'll explain inside." Nanao ushered as she quickly pushed her way inside; pulling Momo in along behind her. "I apologize for the rush, this human world just doesn't suit me very well."

"A guy tried to hit on her." Momo explained quietly.

"Yeah… that would do it." Isane nodded as she pushed the door closed behind the two and locked it once more. "So… back to my earlier question."

"We were sent in because you guys weren't answering our calls; we thought something happened." Nanao started as crossed her arms over her chest. "Now, we are fully aware that it's only been a few days at most but communication is a strict link to continue; the first day you answered back fine but after that… there was nothing. Well… until yesterday that is, when we tried to re-establish a link once more, there seemed to be some kind of… shrieking on the other end. Needless to say, there was some minor panic and we were sent in to oversee what happened."

"Yeah, to be honest, we were kind of expecting to find an empty and bloody apartment." Momo added.

Another frown curved her lips as fingers gently pinched the empty space between her eyes before she spoke. "Yes uh… well we tried to restore contact several times only to find out that… there appears to be a strange barrier present in this world. We don't know for certain what's causing it or powering it but we've speculated that it may be another Hollow presence in the area; a stronger one maybe or one that's driving power from another dimension inward. We can't access Soul Society from here, either by communication or even physically… but apparently you can step into this world, which is evident with your presence here."

"This is absolutely preposterous- wait, wait, wait… you mean to tell us that you've been trying to get back but you couldn't?" Nanao repeated.

"Well we didn't really try until later last night but… no, we can't; communicative links can't be made and… I think the barrier's targeted to our energy type only; whoever's behind this is incredibly intelligent if they were able to create some sort of force field that can not only exist in the human world but be able to reject energy that is of Shinigami structure only."

It seemed to take a few moments for the Eight Lieutenant to recompose herself as a sense of faint anger seemed to narrow her eyes and pinch her lips together. "… Then the point of us being a rescue team is now null…"

"Yes."

Nanao closed her eyes for a moment as it seemed like her mind was going at a hundred miles per hour for an even longer time period; hands pressed tightly against her narrow hips now. Shaking her head, she looked back towards the taller woman. "You know, I told Captain Shunsui I didn't want this mission; I only gave in because Momo asked me if I would accompany her."

"It's not like I knew that we were going to get stuck here and I didn't even think Captain Shunsui would let you come along anyways." The smaller girl defended before she shook her head as well. "Look, is Lieutenant Chojiro anywhere around?"

"He went out with the others awhile ago to do some more investigating around the city." Isane answered with a light shrug. "I mean, we encountered some Hollows last night so we're still skittish about them being in the city and around the general public."

"Do you know where we might be able to find them? I believe this is a situation that Lieutenant Chojiro should be aware of. He was supposed to be in charge of this mission after all." Nanao remarked.

"To be honest, that might be quite a gamble. He could be anywhere by himself or with one of the others- or they might just be in a group because of the attack last night." Isane replied as she slowly walked back over to the couch and made a new spot for herself; carefully tucking her legs beneath her when she found a comfortable position. "But he's probably hanging around either the park area or the coffee shops; he really needs to rest though but you know how he can be sometimes."

"Not really."

"Well you know what, I'll go with you guys and see if we can't find him somewhere around here; hopefully he's with a group and that should be easier to find." Isane remarked. "If anything, it'll be easier to find Matsumoto or Kiyone first and then the others."

"Well let's hope so." Momo chuckled. "This whole thing is really kind of humorous when you think about it."

"What's so funny about being sent out to figure out what's going on only to realize that you're stuck here just the same?" Nanao questioned as she glanced over to the shorter woman.

"… Well when you phrase it like that, you ruin the fun of it."

Isane shook her head and pushed herself to her feet; wondering why she even bothered to sit down in the first place. "Alright, give me a few minutes to get dress and we'll go out into the city and see who we can find." walking back around the couch, she headed into her room and shuffled through the slightly wrinkled piles of clothing in her drawer; after searching for that flashlight last night, she hadn't bothered to go back and fix the wrecked piles. She pulled out a new pair of jeans and decided to make things simple with a dull-red sweater. "So… I'm guessing you guys are going to have to stay in here with us."

"I guess so." Nanao replied with a soft snort as she slowly made her way around the small living room; looking over the fairly… interesting pieces of furniture and decorations. She glanced out the window for a brief moment only to shake her head at the unorganized crowd outside. "I'm not looking forward to it though."

"Tell me about it." Isane called back out as she slipped off the gray tank-top and into her fresh sweater; merely ruffling her hand through her silver locks to straighten them back out. "Well, you guys can share my room if you want; I can sleep out there in the living room."

"Oh, no that's fine; I'm sure we'll be just fine on the couch too." Momo started as she busied herself by fiddling through the cabinets. "We don't want to take up too much space after all."

"It's no problem." Isane assured; tossing her sweatpants aside as she pulled on the new jeans. She probably should've checked them beforehand though, they felt and fitted a little too tight for her comfort. "I don't sleep much anyways, so you guys could put it to better use; or you could take over Kiyone's room and she can move in with me- she's in there most of the time ever since she discovered horror movies on cable."

"She never really had a strong stomach." The Eighth Lieutenant remarked; a soft chuckle following her words this time as she made her way back to the front door.

She barely checked herself out in front of a mirror and merely stepped back out into the living room. "Alright, well… I guess we should try and go find Lieutenant Chojiro and check in with him; let him know about this whole situation and see what his solution is."

"If everyone went out, then I guess that means that we'll have to go retrieve Officer Sentaro as well-" Momo started.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Sentaro had to come with you?" Isane questioned; stopping dead in her tracks.

"Yeah, well he volunteered for the trip."

"Alright well… let's hope when we find Cho, we don't find Kiyone with him."

* * *

><p>She supposed she shouldn't have been surprised when she spotted the white-haired man in the small café that they had visited the first day they were here; and she shouldn't have been surprised that he was by himself. If anything she was kind of glad because of the given situation going on and kind of worried because she had hoped that someone would've stayed with him in case something did happen. She didn't really think another Hollow would strike but his abilities sometimes put a strain on his heart when he maxed them out and she just didn't want him to go into a cardiac arrest or anything. In the human world, this was the last place that that needed to happen.<p>

There was a look of confusion and almost concern that conquered his expression as he glanced up and noticed them working their way over to him. She was trying to prepare some kind of explanation for it and re-work a short speech to tell him… but she ended up coming up empty instead. So, here went winging it instead.

"Lieutenant Nanao, Lieutenant Momo… what exactly are you two doing here?"

"What? Not happy to see us?" Momo questioned with a light grin.

"Look, the two of us, as well as Officer Sentaro, were sent here to see what was going on; we got worried and suspicious after several days of no communication and the last link ending off in some kind of shrieking mess." Nanao answered as she stepped forward. "We were expecting the worst but Isane explained the whole matter to us- unfortunately much too late. And because of that same 'barrier' we are now stuck here just the same."

A brief frown struck him and he nodded slowly with her. "Yes well… that now makes this entire situation far more complicated; contact was cut about the same time the barrier showed up so we had no means of warning you ahead of time. We should… really solve this whole problem before they send in more officers or soon enough there won't be enough officers in Soul Society for proper security."

"I was thinking the same." Isane nodded.

"Uh well… you mentioned Officer Sentaro, where is he as of now?"

"Yes well when we went to check your apartment, where he should've been… he wasn't present; so he's somewhere around this city… unfortunately." Momo slowly answered.

"… We should make finding him our number one priority right now."


	18. Chapter 18

"It's just… it's like watching two Beluga whales go at it."

"Have you ever seen a Beluga whale or were you just throwing out the first thing that came to mind?"

"I might've watched a documentary or two on them."

Ikkaku sighed and turned away from the ever-intertwined couple in front; looking back to the equally disgusted violet-haired man who stood just behind him. "Are you sure you really want to get involved with this family line?"

He barely gave the bald man a minute of his attention and rolled his eyes in response. "How about we focus on something more serious, such as why Officer Sentaro is even here in the first place?"

"I'm more concerned about how we're supposed to separate these two in the first place. That's the serious part of this matter." Matsumoto muttered as she crossed her arms and continued to grimace as the other two officers were… well reacquainting themselves with one another. Physically.

"Yeah Ikkaku, why don't you step forth and take on the request; I know how you can't turn down a challenge." Yumichika pressed; watching as the man seemed to form a response before he stopped himself- ultimately giving in as he turned back and started towards the other two. "Alright, let's just step back incase things get ugly."

Hell, he had dealt with messier things, right?

No, probably not actually.

"Yo, Sentaro, chill out a little bit man, we all know you've marked your territory with this one." Ikkaku started as he approached the intertwined couple; trying to find some way around them before he decided to merely push and pull them apart. "Also, you guys are kind of drawing a lot of attention to yourselves and we've been trying to keep a low profile around here; and you're kind of breaking the table you're on and we don't want to have to cover the charges for it."

The Thirteenth Lieutenants seemed to follow what he said and tried to do the best they could given the circumstances; the newly accompanying officer helped to pull his blonde-haired partner from the wooden table they had been half-pressed, half-fallen on. "Sorry about that Ikkaku, sometimes we just kind of forget about where we are and what we're doing." Kiyone replied as she tried to readjust and smooth out her layered shirts while buttoning up the front of them again; recovering some modesty. "I blame it on his beard."

"I blame it on her breasts."

"Okay, okay… alright, let's try not to lose ourselves here… again or make another scene." Matsumoto started before she turned towards the other man. "Why are you even here, Sentaro? You're supposed to be back at the Society and not here… compromising our mission."

"Yeah but you see… you not answering our calls was also compromising the mission, so they sent me here to figure out what exactly was going on with you guys." Sentaro answered as he readjusted the white band around his forehead. "With the exception of some weird shrieking noise from yesterday, the lines have been quiet ever since you got here. We didn't know what else to do."

"So… they thought sending you here was a good idea?"

"Well not exactly, I mean Officers Momo and Nanao were sent as well and I just decided to tag along in case they needed assistance; you know, imaginations got a little out of hand ever since the line went dead. We all kind of assumed something bad had happened."

She narrowed her eyes lightly at the news before she looked towards the other two. "We should probably head back and inform Chojiro and Isane of this."

"Yeah, you see, actually finding Chojiro is going to be difficult… he could be anywhere by now." Ikkaku started. "Although Isane should still be back at your apartment though, right?"

"Momo and Nanao might have already met with her; we dropped by the apartments earlier but no one was at yours so I decided to walk around and go looking to see what I could find." Sentaro started. "I know they chose to do the same thing, so if Officer Isane was there, then they've probably already regrouped."

"Gods, I hope so."

* * *

><p>"We're trying not to panic right?"<p>

"Well, it's not entirely a life or death situation, it's just a… well uh… situation regardless." Chojiro started as he carefully lead the small group of women outside into the streets and down one of the sidewalks.

"My sister is alone with her so-called 'boyfriend', yes this is a moment to panic." Isane answered as one hand ruffled through her silver locks. "At least for me it is, and lord knows what kind of trouble those two are going to be getting themselves into. Kiyone's hard enough to manage and look over, can you imagine what Sentaro's going to be like? And those two out together in this city?"

Nanao frowned at the remarks and pushed up on her glasses. "Dare I say it, now would be a good time to panic."

"I knew it." Momo sighed as hands moved to smooth out the white sundress she had picked out for the trip; black flowers spiraled up one side and spread out across the even bust that clung to her chest. The almost-silk like material fluttered lightly in the calm breeze and she was partly thankful it was a much longer dress- the breeze would've been strong enough to provide a bit… too much air with a shorter hem. Fingers tucked aside a loose strand of hair before she glanced over at what appeared to be a small mass of people in a conjoining courtyard just outside of the town park. "Oh goodness, please tell me that's not them."

"Actually I think that's for a small-town committee meeting; I believe they're hosting some kind of dancing marathon of some sort." Chojiro answered. "I passed by it earlier and they were discussing some sort of music list."

"That sounds like fun, if there's time can we go to it?"

"I agree, it does seem enjoyable."

Shaking her head, Nanao moved to more accompany the taller woman instead as fingers pulled her red vest together; smoothing out the long-sleeve, white blouse underneath it in the process. "Alright, so let's try to stay on the topic at hand and narrow the search area down. Where exactly would Officers Ikkaku, Yumichika and Matsumoto go? We can only hope and pray that Officer Sentaro's already found them, so maybe then they've been able to keep an eye on those two."

"I can only hope." Isane sighed. "Some people think I exaggerate about those two but… their means of celebration includes wrestling and getting drunk; they enjoy excessive celebration and don't even get me started on how they celebrated New Years."

"I thought they were both in Division Four during that?"

"They were but that doesn't stop them from doing their own celebration."

It seemed to take the Eighth Lieutenant a moment before that stern expression cringed slightly. "Oh dear…"

"My thoughts were more along the lines of… well things I wouldn't dare say out loud in a public setting." Isane remarked back in return as she moved to turn the next street corner. She paused slightly as she spotted a brief glimpse of someone with violet-hair just before they stepped out of view. She wasn't entirely sure what the hell she was doing but she quickened her pace and tried to keep the memory of where the person disappeared into fresh in her mind for when she arrived at that same placement; barely even noticing how she left the other three behind her in her hurry. If she could locate one of them then she could find the rest, which would lead her to wherever Kiyone was.

She turned the next corner at a slight sharp angle and managed to run her taller frame into a shorter figure she had failed to see in time. There was that brief struggle for balance and the stumble to grab a hold onto anything to keep themselves standing- both methods failing as she eventually toppled forward and took the other figure down with her. The collision with the ground wasn't as bad as she thought it be, then again she wasn't on the bottom of the pile and got a fairly cushioned fall; there was a slight heave as her bodyweight left enough of an impact to knock the air clean out of the lungs of her fallen victim.

"Well shit, I guess it just runs in the family then."

Pushing herself up onto her arms as quickly as she could, she looked up at the comment and frowned at the grinning bald man who met her glare. "That's not funny."

"You'll have to excuse baldy here, he laughs at anything." Matsumoto assured as she pushed him aside. "Although, you two do look like you're recreating a similar scene we just got out of."

"I don't even want to know." she muttered to herself before she moved to look down at the figure below her. "Oh for the love of-"

"I wasn't going to say anything, so we'll just leave it at that." Yumichika started as he slowly pulled himself out from underneath her; both of them quickly pushing themselves back to their feet and smoothing out the brief wrinkles in their clothing. One hand moved to brush aside his loose strands of hair as he tucked them behind one ear. "Alright uh well… it's a good thing we ran into you when we did… we found Officer Sentaro and-"

"Where on Earth did you run off to?" Nanao questioned as she came around the same corner and entered the small café courtyard.

"-I see you've already regrouped with the other two then."

"It's quite the mess, isn't it?" Isane sighed before she looked past the other three and spotted her blonde-haired sister- already wrapped up in the arms of her fellow Division Lieutenant. A coarse sigh escaped her as she moved the others aside and approached the two. "This was probably the one thing I was fearing right now."

"Oh relax, we're not doing anything illegal… there's too much light out here." Kiyone teased.

"Kiyone-"

"Look, we have bigger things to worry about right now." Nanao interrupted as she briefly pulled back on the Fourth Lieutenant's arm. "And it would be much better if we _didn't _have everyone running around and causing a disturbance. Now then, the sooner we get back onto the track of things, the sooner we can figure out what's going on and when we can actually get back to the Society."

"I don't know, I kind of like it here." Sentaro started.

"Ah, that's just Nanao acting like she always does." Matsumoto shrugged; fingers running through her long blonde locks as she pulled them back over one shoulder. "So strict and always with the rules."

"Rules? I'm sorry but has it even come to your attention that-"

"Ladies, ladies, please…" Chojiro interrupted as he stepped between them. "If you will, do try and keep your voices down; not everyone needs to know about our current issues- most of which no one would understand. Now then… let's try and head back to a more secured location and speak of this. We can trade out information and get things started from there."

"He has a point."

"I know he has a point." Nanao snapped before she shook her head lightly. "Alright, let's just head back to our rooms and get things figured out from there. _Please._" the last word emphasized with irritation.

* * *

><p>The apartment was small enough for just the three of them; she was surprised they were able to fit all nine of them in there now. It was slightly crowded and a bit uncomfortable but it was possible apparently. Although they all seemed out of place standing around in these civilian clothing while they were used to seeing one another in their uniforms instead.<p>

"Let's start from the beginning." Nanao spoke as she carefully took the antique chair that resided in one corner. Fingertips pushed up on her red frames before she moved to push out the wrinkles in the black pair of dress pants that she fitted with her outfit.

A small nod came from the First Lieutenant as he brought his arms to cross over his chest. "When we first arrived here a few days ago, the communication had been sketchy but the signal was open and went through. However… as time went on, the signal quickly declined in strength before only a deep sound of silence resorted on the other line; no matter how much of my own energy I put into the signal, it wouldn't function. It was only until late yesterday when we were attacked that it became clear as to why the signal wasn't going through. Despite the ultimate defeat of said Hollow, the problem persists. We were heading out to pursuit this problem and see if we couldn't find evidence of who or what was causing it… that is before we were graced by your appearance here."

"So, no leads, no suspects, only empty intuition to guide us?" Sentaro questioned as he propped one arm around Kiyone's shoulders; slowly removing the act when he caught the brief glare from the silver-haired woman. "Sounds like fun to be honest."

"Yeah until we figure out what's causing it." Matsumoto remarked as she seemingly threw herself into one corner of the couch. "I mean, you have to think… this 'thing' has enough power to block out signals coming in from both sides; it has enough power to block the energy of a Lieutenant-ranked Shinigami… and still be able to keep itself under wraps. I mean, if it's doing all of this with its energy, we should've been able to detect it by now. So… whatever the hell it is, it means business and it's going to war against us."

"Well let's face it, we're most vulnerable in this world." Ikkaku remarked as he leaned in against one of the walls. "We can't unleash any massive traits of energy here, we have to keep a track on what attacks we use, if we're spotted by the general public… well we're basically fucked."

"As dreadful as it will be to say, we should be partly thankful for Division Twelve." Yumichika started. "They are the ones who were able to create a mix between our Shinigami forms and our Gigais. We can be seen by the public, but they can't sense our energy or even pick up on anything about us, which gives us an advantage. It also allows for us to use our energy without having to completely break our Gigais in the process… of course, we still hold the risk of doing so. Still… Hollows are able to recognize us and you would think with this fairly suitable collection of us, they'd be tramping over everything to get here."

"Well it's either us or the people outside who can't see nor sense them." Momo reminded. "They can't even defend themselves like we can. Which reminds me, did anyone else learn that nifty trick of turning your sword into a normal accessory to carry around? I thought it seemed silly at first until Captain Ukitake explained that it would help to conceal the weapon when in this world, so we at least still had a chance to defend ourselves somehow."

"Oh yeah, I turned mine into some earrings to keep it classy." Kiyone grinned.

"Note to self, don't lose her earrings later on."

"Sentaro, that doesn't really help when you say it out loud."


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: This was going to be Monday's chapter but... you guys have been really awesome with the reviews so I decided to update an extra chapter. As well, hopefully it'll start to make up for the lack of romance lately while I was trying to set up the plot.**

"Well then, what do we do about this?"

"Get back out there and keep looking." Matsumoto shrugged as she brought her arms to cross over her chest. "We'll get nowhere just sitting around here questioning ourselves about what we should do. If anything, we have a better chance at finding out something if we're out there walking around- not to mention, sitting around doing nothing isn't really my thing."

"Really? I kind of thought-"

"Shut it, Ikkaku."

Yumichika merely rolled his eyes at the exchange. "Alright well, you guys go ahead and have fun with wherever you're planning on going. You could always introduce her to Mizuho after all." he easily caught the look of death from the bald man as the female Lieutenant seemed to light up at the suggestion; he didn't really understand why the man seemed to insist on so much 'secrecy' with the matter- asides from obvious reasons he supposed, that kind of relationship was frowned upon by the Society. Still, that didn't seem to stop him from showing their 'appreciation' towards one another the last time they visited- Gods know that kept him up for days. Then again, he didn't see why Matsumoto wanted to meet with her either, she wasn't all that entertaining, if anything she was more on the level of meeting the spawn of the Devil.

Still, that grin that moved to counteract his words was just a tad bit frightening.

"You know, maybe I will." Ikkaku started; watching as his partner's expression seemed to hint that he was weary of his next few words. "We'll make a day out of it, although I'm not entirely sure if Mizuho will like you all too much… she tends to get a bit jealous."

Hmm, that was a new one, he'd have to play his cards carefully with this. "I don't think she has much to worry about; baldness isn't all that attractive." okay, so he might've spoiled that play but it was too good to pass over.

"We could all just go out and have as much fun with this as we can until the next Hollow outbreak shows up." he continued.

"And what makes you think there's going to be another one." Nanao questioned with a mild frown on her lips.

"Well something's causing that barrier and eventually it's going to want to come out and play." Ikkaku shrugged. "So, let's go out and make our presence known; the larger number of us here is sure to get its attention. And it'll probably piss it off if it sees us acting like it's not even there. So, we don't fall into its obvious plan of making us panic and… we turn the tables on it."

"That's stupid."

"Does that mean we can go dancing?" Momo questioned as her expression seemed to light up at the possibility.

"Well, to be honest, I think Chojiro was going to take you anyways." Matsumoto assured before she turned back towards the other ones in the room. "You know what… I don't even want to know where you two were thinking of going." she motioned towards the pair of Thirteenth Division Lieutenants; watching as they only offered their best innocent grins in response. Shaking her head in an attempt to get rid of the start of images, she moved her attention towards the silver-haired woman who had migrated back into one corner of the couch. "What about you, Isane?"

She really wasn't paying all too much attention to the conversation; noting that it drifted further and further away from the topic at hand. Still, she snapped back into reality at the question and only lightly shrugged in answer. "I think I'm just gonna spend the rest of my day here… I never really intended to get out all too much today anyways." in truth, the lack of sleep had started to give her a minor headache but she was working her way through it.

"Hey, you know then, Yumichika can stay back and keep you company." Ikkaku answered.

Ahh, there it was. Damnit. He knew the moment the Third seat started talking and agreeing with him that he was fucking planning something. It had taken some build up and some agreement from the others but he finally nailed the conclusion of it; although he could give him points for presentation and at least tasteful creativity- it couldn't have been easy to hold onto a straight face for that long.

Still, if the man was able to counteract him quickly, he could do the same. Only better.

"That's quite alright, I wouldn't want to ruin his day-"

"Nonsense, I would want nothing more than to keep you company." Yumichika started; watching as his Division partner seemed to cock an eyebrow in surprise. What the hell was he doing?

The remark caught her slightly off-guard but she tried to save some face in the presence of the others. "Oh, well, then you're all the more welcomed to stay…"

"It's settled then." Matsumoto smiled as she clapped her hands together. "Well, come on, we all have things to do now... no sense in keeping ourselves waiting. Nanao, do you want to join Ikkaku and I-" she stopped upon noticing the woman already halfway out the door and frowned briefly at the act. "Fine, I didn't want your company anyways."

"We'll see if she wants to join us for a movie." Kiyone offered as she dragged Sentaro close behind her on their quick way out the door.

"I'm going to quiz you on the movie!" Isane called after her; sighing when she watched the two disappear almost instantly out of view the first chance they got. She shook her head and tried not to bug herself with the thought of the two out of her supervision- that was actually quite the last bit of images she wanted to run herself into. She glanced over to see Momo tug lightly on the cufflinks of Chojiro's shirt as they both seemed to be sharing a joke of some sort. "So, are you two going to go out dancing or what?"

"We are." Momo chuckled. "I just think I might have to stand on his feet to get anywhere though."

"Oh, you'll be fine." Matsumoto assured as she ushered for the two to get a head start towards their destination before she glanced back over one shoulder. "Come on, Baldy, you gotta introduce me to your girlfriend already."

Yumichika caught that last act of a death glare from the man and only answered it with a brief grin; watching as the blonde woman latched her hand onto his arm and dragged, or rather 'helped' him out the door, which closed tightly behind them. Of course… he supposed he should share just a tiny bit of sympathy for his partner- Mizuho was a difficult woman to understand. Unfortunately that also meant that he was stuck here and stuck in Ikkaku's trap just as well. Not to say that there were any complaints about it, it was just… well… now did not seem like the time.

Isane watched as the front door was pulled closed before she turned her attention back to the violet-haired man just a few feet from the couch; his back was turned to her with a few muscles pulled into a tense position. Reaching for the nearest available throw pillow, she planned on making truth of its name and tossed it at him. Her aim seemed dead-on but her throw itself wasn't entirely there as it fell just a few inches short; still it seemed to have brushed the back of his leg as he turned back towards her just soon after its crash. "Nice going, Ayasegawa." she teased as she leaned back against the couch arm. "Matsumoto's going to have a ball with this."

"Yeah well, so is Ikkaku." he reminded as he stooped down to retrieve the pillow before he tossed it back to her. "So… what do we do now?"

She shrugged lightly in response. "I mean, I was just planning on watching TV or catching some kind of documentary on cable; it's not very exciting but it was something to listen to." she watched as he moved to lean against the back of the couch near her and nodded with her words. "Or… you could answer a question or two for me."

He narrowed his eyes briefly at the remark before he turned to look at her. "What kind of questions are they exactly?"

"Well uh… I, for one, would like to know if… I mean, are we dating now?" Isane asked; taking hint that the question seemed to catch him off-guard, if only for a second or two. "We did the whole exchange and we have those 'I kind of like you' moments going on-"

"I'm going to apologize for interrupting you, but it's not really so much of 'liking you' as it is between the stages of infatuation and obsession." he started; watching as she seemed to crack out into a light grin at the remark, one that he followed with a chuckle. "Given the proper chance to, I would enjoy having the opportunity of dating you."

Yeah, she was definitely thankful the others weren't here so they couldn't see how flushed she was getting with him. The tip of one finger moved to play with the curve of her lips before she nodded lightly; her words slightly crippled with the sounds of soft chuckling. "It is an interesting opportunity indeed because… well I can't necessarily say we'll have all the time we have now in the somewhat distant future; you're from Division Eleven, I'm from Division Four- that in itself is quite an obstacle."

"Perhaps so but just think of how fun it would be, it'd be kind of like one of those Shakespearean plays- only let's try not to commit suicide in the end." he replied.

"I won't if you won't." she agreed.

"So that settles it then?"

"Hmm… yeah, I guess so." she nodded as fingers moved to tuck aside a few loose strands of hair; watching as he seemed to be distracted by some form of noise out in the corridor. There was a… given chance to take right now but she questioned herself on whether or not she had the galls to do it. Come on, Kotetsu, you're going to go nowhere if you keep questioning yourself. Oh, what a wicked inner voice. "I just noticed, with that wound I healed last night…"

He touched briefly at the previously mutilated area that had bleed all throughout the apartment the night before. "It's interesting that you brought that up, I actually wanted to thank you for healing it so flawlessly; it almost seems more like a bad dream that that wound was even there in the first place."

"Actually, I was just about to say, there does seem to be just a tad bit of scar tissue present." Isane remarked; watching as a coarse look of questioning dressed his expression. "Don't worry, it should be easy to fix and… I can do it now if you don't mind."

But he had just looked over that area that morning and he didn't see anything- and he would've noticed any difference in flesh. Then again… she was the healer, she could probably spot out things that no one else could. "Where? I didn't see any this morning when I looked at it."

"Yeah, scar tissue can kind of be tricky and deceiving just a bit." she nodded as she moved to push herself up slightly on the couch; balancing just a bit roughly on her knees as she positioned herself closer to him. He seemed to be a bit… flustered maybe at the remark but was calmly fit just the same. Fingertips moved to just lightly touch at the curve of his jawline as she eased his head just slightly in one direction. "But, it's right here…"

He could feel the flat of her thumb press lightly against the corner of his lips at her words and he started to remark that he hadn't at all been hit there the night before. "Isane, I-"

That familiar warm contact of her lips against his own made sure to interrupt those words and leave them for later continuation.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: I'm not going to try and defend myself, the reason I didn't upload on Monday was because that was the same day Gears of War 3 came out.**

"You know, if people keep seeing us like this, they're going to get the wrong idea." Matsumoto remarked as she followed along the side of the bald man next to her; hands busy trying to pull her blonde strands behind her as the light day breeze challenged to wrestle her for control over them.

Ikkaku shrugged lightly and continued his way through the crowd of people coming in from the opposite direction. "Who cares. Look at it this way, I'm in a committed relationship and you're in a different committed relationship, so it works out. As long as we know where we stand there's really no bother with what everyone else thinks. Besides, I'm not the least bit attracted to you."

"Good, because I hate bald men."

"And I hate bitches."

She wrinkled her nose slightly at his sharp response but found it fairly easy to cast aside; after all, this was the basis of their own friendship, right? She picks at him, he picks at her, they get into outrageous fights but in the end… he was still bald and she had luscious hair. "So… do you think it was a good idea to leave those two alone in that apartment?"

"Are you kidding? They'll probably sit around and discuss their 'feelings' for one another rather than actually do anything incriminating."

"Still, I'd like to have some shred of gossip for the people back home."

"Well you just worry about us actually getting home, and then you can spread as much gossip as you want."

* * *

><p>"So are you two together?"<p>

Hinamori chuckled lightly as she glanced over to the much taller man next to her; unsure if she wanted to answer it or if she should let him answer it… what if they both had different responses? A light shake of her head moved to clear her thoughts as she tried to settle for the best answer possible. "Well, we'll be dancing partners for the evening, so I guess you could say so."

The woman on the other side of the table seemed to smile lightly and jotted down their names on the clipboard in front of her; she handed them matching numbers to pin to their shirts and wished them the best.

She didn't necessarily know what the whole organized area was about, but she did enjoy dancing… and she enjoyed spending time with him, so it didn't matter with her. Her dark eyes glanced over to the man whose arm hers was linked to before she lightly tugged his attention to her. "Ready to have a few hours of fun?"

"Miss. Hinamori, if this is a marathon and/or contest, I do believe we are in conditions to succeed." Chojiro answered as he carefully lead her down the rows of table that were pressed along one wall of the open gazebo that eventually spread itself out into the wide open courtyard next door. Their registration was done and all they had to do now was wait for the appropriate time to start and wait for the other contenders to arrive.

"It's not always a competition, you know." she remarked with a soft smile; lightly placing her other hand on top of his arm as well. "That is unless… you're just looking for an excuse to spend more time with me? A little more than just a few hours?"

"I am only saying… there's no need to rush so quickly out of it."

"A few hours are a little more than just 'rushing' but… I do see your point; it's very understandable."

"I was hoping you would say that."

* * *

><p>It was completely out of character for her and yet… again, that inner voice just wouldn't let her waste such a moment as this. After all, they were both alone and in the solitary comfort of this apartment… no one else they knew was around… it seemed like the perfect condition. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't but it was too late to reconsider now.<p>

Her hands remained against his jawline as they kept the embrace intact and had pulled him forward just a little bit to solidify the connection. He offered no responding conflict or opposition- then again, she didn't really expect for him to in the first place.

The blurred memories of the night before seemed to finally be slowing down to form a more accurate image of their… 'rush' into this whole matter; still it was an odd sense to almost rewind back to the moment while reliving it now. Before it had just been a mess of conflicted emotions and an upset of feelings as their bodies both continued to register the previous pain of their injuries; such an embrace that they had partaken in would've been enough to push the matter off for the moment and give them a chance to live without that temporary pain of mangled wounds. But now, now it was just them giving in- or rather her at least. Maybe?

But at least they were getting somewhere with this, right?

Why did she always have to question herself so profusely in situations like this?

The touch of his fingertips against her own skin pulled her closer to him as he pushed to take advantage of the barren situation- something she too wanted to do, just to see how deep the waters were going to go with this. There was still that lingering feeling that this would only be a kind of 'fling' really; after this mission, it would be right back to Division work and impossible hours. Still though… he seemed to be understanding to that, after all during that first 'date' he waited for her even though he knew that she would only be free far past midnight. Who knew, maybe this one would move on to something.

Or maybe it was just wishful thinking.

There she went doubting everything again.

"Do you always get this tense when you're kissing someone?"

She released a brief chuckle and pushed herself away for a moment; bracing her arms against the cushion of the couch. "Only when I get nervous or my thought process gets all tangled up in itself."

That brief, charismatic grin of his showed up once more as he moved to cross his arms over the back of the couch; leaning slightly forwards toward her. "And which one of those would be responsible for this time?"

"My mind."

"I'm sure it is."

She gave into a playful frown and wrinkled her nose briefly; watching as he only seemed to give into the motion and chuckle lightly to himself. "You always think so highly of yourself, don't you Ayasegawa."

"Kotetsu, we've known each other for a long time, you should know that already."

"Perhaps so, I suppose the hint of Narcissism in your attitude is enough of a give away to presume such an assumption."

"You are a cruel, cruel woman." he remarked with a touch of a tease on the tip of his tongue; he eventually pushed himself from the couch and gave a long look around the apartment for a moment to gather his thoughts. "So… is there anything in particular you want to do other than sit around on the couch and throw pillows at one another?"

A light shrug cursed her shoulders. "I don't know, is there anywhere in town we could go without running the risk of encountering someone we might know?"

"Let's see… I highly doubt Ikkaku actually took Matsumoto to meet Mizuho, so they're probably at some kind of café or something; Kiyone and Sentaro were going to see a movie… needless to say, we won't be running into them anywhere, anytime soon; Chojiro and Hinamori went dancing at that courtyard by the park, so that should be easy to avoid; and Nanao more than likely went to the library nearby, which should also be easy to overlook. Just a few key places to avoid but other than that, the rest of the town is ours."

"Seems reasonable." she nodded.

"I thought you said you didn't feel like getting out though?"

"Oh, well it seems as though I'm feeling better now." Isane replied with another shrug. "I guess after all the activity from this morning, it's lightened me up a bit."

Somehow he had managed to distract himself with… other things that he had almost completely forgotten about their ongoing situation as it was. The whole barrier issue and the sudden arrival of three more Shinigami officers… two more Lieutenants and a… well kind of half one. And even with that much given power, they had yet to get anywhere with it. The situation was already dropping straight into bleakness but they couldn't allow for something so unsettling to derail them; there was still plenty of time to break the case open and figure out what was going on. Hopefully soon enough though… "Uh well, there is a small amusement park downtown that's opened this week, we could waste a few hours and drop by; they're not really my thing but if you're interested, it's there."

"As much fun as that sounds… I was never really one for roller coasters; I sometimes went over the height requirements and my weak stomach didn't always go over so well on those things." she chuckled lightly. "I think I might've read something about a craft show in town if that's really suitable by any means."

"Uh… well art isn't really a strong point for me either, again." he started.

"We're really difficult people, aren't we?"

"I didn't think staying inside all day was really all too fitting for us either."

"Well now, I wouldn't say that exactly."


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: I always do this to myself; I start a new story, not expecting much from it, and then twenty chapters later, it is still going on. I never imagine most stories getting past twenty because in my head it seems short... but then when writing it out, it seems to double and/or triple in size. Oh well, it's all still fun and entertaining to do; no regrets. Anyways, thanks for the reviews and favs- I'm glad to see that Gears of War 3 is, infact, a suitable excuse.**

The passing days went by a lot smoother than expected, even with the extra two people in the apartment. Now, given that a lot of space was taken up, and they still all had to share one bathroom… at least they were all alive and fully conscious; she was almost certain that Matsumoto was on the brink of pulling Nanao into a scuffle a few times or not. Luckily, the Eighth Division Lieutenant had a bit of a leveled-head when it came down to it and was able to hold herself well against the more ecstatic Tenth Lieutenant. Asides from the occasional argument from those two, everything else went smoothly. Kiyone was busy watching cable most of the time, well she preferred to spend her time with Sentaro when it was available- although she herself did step in a few times to limit their time together; she just wanted to excuse it and say that the human world really wasn't the place for them to be… doing whatever it was that they did when they were out of her sight. And Hinamori rarely did much to call attention to herself around the apartment… although it was noted that she liked to spend quite a bit of her own time with Chojiro; she didn't want to look too deeply into it because the two were fairly mute about anything ongoing between them.

As for herself?

Well… she had let Yumichika take her out a few times now and again; offering the excuse to the others that she was going out for a walk… down the block, around the corner and into the nearby coffee shop, or wherever else they chose to go. She was surprised to feel so much ease around him and see how much they had in common. While she wasn't going to go off the deep end of the relationship just yet, there was still that slight hint that things would go further. Sure, it had only been days, well maybe a week or two by now but they had known each other for years before that- even if it was just as mere acquaintances.

She just didn't like to think too much in on it.

Not yet anyways.

"I'm going out for a little while; I'll be back soon enough." Momo called as she slipped on a light jacket on her way towards the front door.

"Again?" Matsumoto questioned; stepping out of the bathroom with little more than a towel wrapped around her midsection and another wrapping her hair together. "Is this another one of your dates with Lieutenant Chojiro?"

"It is not a date; it's never been a date." she denied quickly. "We're just friends; you don't see me questioning you whenever you go out with Ikkaku."

The woman released a short raspberry as she made her way across the living room. "Please, you know I'm involved with someone else; and so is he for that matter. I wish people would stop getting that misconception. We're friends. End of story. Besides, I'm not even faintly attracted to him, no matter how many times he runs around shirtless."

"I'm not sure if he would say the same about you." Nanao remarked as she slowly turned the next page of her novel and continued on reading. "The running around shirtless part anyways."

Isane sighed and only shook her head as she watched the other two women seemingly get into it once more; just the smallest remarks could get those two started off on nothing. She turned back towards the shorter woman who only rolled her eyes at the scene. "Alright, well hopefully we'll all still be here when you get back. Just have fun and remember to be safe."

"We don't want any little Lieutenant babies running around." Kiyone commented; faintly sprawled on the couch with the remote in one hand as she flipped aimlessly through the channels.

"I meant just make sure you don't run into anything…" Isane corrected.

"Don't worry, we'll keep an eye out." Momo nodded as she pulled the door open and quickly excused herself out.

The door was barely closed and the latch just barely clicked in link; it had to have been a new record before someone shattered it.

"Has anyone noticed that those two have been spending a lot of time with each other lately?" Matsumoto questioned.

"I can't have this conversation with you if you're going to stand in the middle of the room naked." Nanao answered.

"I'm still wearing a towel."

"She has a point."

"Stay out of this, Kiyone!"

When was Momo going to be back again? She was already beginning to miss the company.

Shaking her head, she moved around to slowly clean up the small kitchen area; putting up dishware and such in the higher cabinet space. She did remember to put some on a lower shelf so Hinamori could at least reach them without having assistance. It wasn't like the place was in all too big of a mess even with the five of them but Nanao had still taken it upon herself to turn the place completely upside down; cleaning, arranging and re-arranging a few things here or there. She was impressed with the woman's level of detail, then again living in the Division Eight building couldn't have been a walk in the park either. Although, she did question the bloodied clothing that had remained in the bathroom after the attack; they had gone into a bit more detail with the Hollow encounter and she noted that the other Lieutenant was taking strict notes on the matter. Again, that didn't really surprise her much either; Nanao was a scholar, a note-taking person, she enjoyed documenting all sorts of things- not to mention it would have to go in their reports later on.

If they ever got back to the Society that was.

Even after the passing days, the barrier was still present but they had calmed down remarkably well over the matter; giving themselves time to relax and think it all over. So far they hadn't ran into any other Hollow presences but that wasn't to say they weren't still here- in fact, she had that feeling like she just jinxed everyone. Well, it wasn't like she could just take it back now. Everyone used the excuse to search for the Hollows as a way of getting out of the apartment, after all the heartless figures would instantly be drawn to them, right? It was hard to imagine that they had been ignored for this long… then again, there were plenty of other people around- easier targets anyways.

A brief knock on the door called for her attention as she quickly put away the dishes she had in hand and slowly made her way over to the source of the noise; she figured she didn't really need to look to see who it was, they didn't get any visitors aside from Nanao and Momo. And, only to prove that she was usually always right, she pulled the door open to reveal the two Division Eleven members.

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise." Isane remarked as she pushed the door open wider for them to get through. "What brings you boys over?"

"Oh not much." Ikkaku shrugged before he turned his attention to something else. "So, does anyone have any idea why Momo and Lieutenant Chojiro have been hanging around with each other so much? I mean, it's like they're going out every day."

"See!"

"Oh shut up already, Rangiku!" Nanao snapped as she pushed up on her glasses and tried to focus back on her novel. "You guys are just merely overreacting and even if it's such a thing like that, it's no busy of yours."

Matsumoto rolled her eyes the moment the woman wasn't looking and turned back to the two joining men. "I don't know, but whenever I ask her about she gives me some kind of excuse about them just being 'friends', which we all know how well that works out."

"He always says they're going out to look for whoever's responsible for the barrier." Yumichika started. "Which, when you think about it, does make sense; although, even with two-leveled Lieutenants, this thing still insists on hiding from us."

"I was thinking the same thing." Isane nodded. "But, it's not the best idea to just go out there and make ourselves victims; as much as we'd like to add a fire to this whole search, we can't risk making ourselves vulnerable in it either- even with these numbers. If anything, they're doing the right exercises into luring this thing out, which would be to make yourself blend in and yet be noticeable by being out there constantly- maybe even in the same place at the same time everyday. Any hint of a habit and those things are already calculating a way to get you."

"… And just how do you know this?"

"Captain Unohana shared a few tips about Hollow behaviors before I left." she answered. "All I'm saying is that we should probably try and talk about this Hollow-Barrier business first and… not get ourselves involved in other people's matters, or in their relationships."

"Finally someone with a stroke of common sense." Nanao remarked as she slowly pushed herself up from where she had been seated in the opposite corner of the couch from Kiyone; fingers gently closing her book after she had set her bookmark in place. "Perhaps we all should've tried to take that same approach to the matter. For some odd reason, that does remind me, where is Sentaro? Did he not come along?"

"He was asleep on the couch when we left; we didn't want to wake him." Ikkaku replied. "Actually, we did want to but then Yumichika reminded me about what might happen if we had brought him over, so I decided to go against myself in that decision. He'll be fine by himself for a little while, we left water out for him."

"Well as long as we make sure that Kiyone doesn't sneak out, everything will be fine." Matsumoto commented.

"Oh ha ha, guys." Kiyone responded as she slowly lifted herself from where she had been slightly sinking into the thick cushions of the couch. Tossing the remote aside, she pushed herself to her feet and gave into a strong stretch to pull her muscles out of their stiff positions. The light, almost hiss of a noise caught her attention as she turned towards the far end of the room; watching as small droplets of water began to strike the window and splattered themselves against the clear material. Her eyes lightly narrowed before she walked over towards the large window; barely paying much attention to the ongoing conversation at hand as her attention moved to focus on another matter. She looked up to see thin sheets of gray clouds beginning to make their way across the once, previously clear skies. "That's odd."

"What is?" Isane called.

"It's raining outside but the news said it would be clear all week, temperatures in the nineties even." she answered as she pressed fingertips against the glass.

"Raining? It was just clear as hell when we were outside…" Ikkaku started before he stopped himself. "I uh… well I only know one person who could make it rain like that out of nowhere… and for no reason."

"Oh, I think there's a reason." Yumichika replied.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Yes, yet another action-packed sequence because that's just how things were working out in my head with it. It's funny enough that I hate typing fight scenes and yet I have to have one in almost every story. It's more for the chance to describe injuries though. Anyways, enough on that, I assure those waiting that this segment will end with some romance. Or at least the start of some more. **

The rush of fire that erupted across the street could've been blamed on the sudden drop of a telephone pole; wires snapping themselves out of line as its sturdy base was splintered easily in one hit. That wasn't to say that the wires could actually cause a sudden stream of fire like that reasonably but… well she didn't have any other excuse and she wasn't going to tell people that it was because of her.

Ducking behind an overturned café table, she took a moment to regain herself and tried to concentrate on the light clicking noise that floated around her. Their nice little afternoon at the local coffee shop had been going wonderfully and she was on the verge of questioning the First Lieutenant on an important matter… until they showed up- or rather, made themselves known; she had a feeling that they had been around for quite some time now. The breath froze in her throat for a moment as a loud clicking echoed just above her before she slowly lifted her eyes in the direction; watching as two blades slowly curved over the edge of the table she had braced herself against.

The face was essentially white with black rings serving for the eyes; a wide strip of black went straight across the lower face and acted as a mouth as the line parted for a brief moment. Another throat vibrating hiss echoed as the body continued to lift itself over her. Placing her hands against the table, she forced the wood to catch fire as she propelled herself from the prop; throwing her body into a small roll in order to avoid any overhead slashes. Only a high-pitched shrill echoed as the Hollow pulled itself over the table and continued to advance towards her. Its body was long and lanky as extended arms were chopped off at the elbows and replaced with long-bladed swords that traced the ceramic tiles underneath; emitting a shrieking noise as the sword tips cut straight into the tiles. Now, she wasn't entirely the best expert on Hollows- she couldn't even really remember all the classes all too well. This one was a more advanced one, one that had been strong enough to pass through the senseless forms to achieve this. It was one of those, what were they called? The stage just before full Arrancar, it was a more animalistic stage- oh fuck it, she didn't have time for terminology right now!

Pushing herself from where she had landed, she darted out across the café courtyard and leaped over the short wall that had surrounded it; well, it was short to anyone normal sized but to her it was more of a 'climb' rather than a 'leap.' She just needed to put a bit more space between them as fingers reached for the long pendant that hung around her neck; snapping it free and allowing for a short burst of energy to transform it back into Tobiume.

"Chojiro! I've got one confirmed!" Momo called as she ran through the opposing field and went to rejoin with the man, who was currently engaged with another figure in the middle of the street. "Nevermind, I see you've got the same."

"It is quite a timely set matter." he remarked; bracing his weight against his sword as the attacking Hollow moved to strike him once more. He stepped aside and allowed for the sword to fall through before he swung his own blade to slice through the Hollow's side; watching as black fluid seemed to rush out instead. "While I'm sure it's already been brought to their attention, I want you to run back and alert the others. I'll hold these two off while you make an escape."

"I can't do that-" she started before she turned back as another hiss alerted her of the engaging position of the first Hollow.

"I assure you, Hinamori, I will be able to hold these two off quite easily; however, we may need some assistance in this matter right now." he continued. "If these are the ones causing the barrier, then it might just be in our best luck if we were all present when it went down; that way we could all escape at the same time and report this as soon as possible."

"But what if-"

"Hinamori please… they'll want to be here, I assure you."

She wanted to curse the man but thought better of it at the last minute; bringing her sword up for the final time, she knocked the Hollow aside before engulfing it into a quick burst of fire. Its terrifying shrieks were soon left behind her as she took off down the street and headed back towards the apartment. It wasn't like they had been expecting to get jumped as such- they were only here to try and seek them out, neither of them expected to actually run into one of them! Let alone two! Thankfully the quick break of rain cleared most people out and if not… well as long as they kept their identities hidden, no one would suspect them. She continued to push her speed as quickly as she could and took the next corner a bit too harsh as one foot hit a rain puddle; there was that brief second of panic as she felt her legs slide out from underneath her. The concrete was terrible against her as it felt as though it grated her skin upon contact and the harsh rap of it against one temple send a thundering headache throughout her skull. Groaning lightly, she started to push herself back up but stopped at the faint hissing just behind her. There was no way that one could've followed her… Chojiro would've stopped it at least. Slowly, she moved to look behind her and watched as another shadowed figure advanced upon her. It looked almost identical to the other two except… its arms weren't blades and they were shorter than they anatomically should've been. Its body was larger, bloated almost as its flesh seemed to stretch itself back and forth over its form. It wasn't so much moving as it was lumbering towards her as its skin seemed to slowly be peeling itself free.

* * *

><p>"Alright, let's run with this." Ikkaku started. "Ladies-"<p>

"Your next sentence better be 'we ask for your assistance on this matter.'" Nanao interrupted as she brushed aside the dark strands that had partly fallen into her face. "And you better not have even thought about rushing out there like a bald maniac."

"Ha ha, she called you bald." Matsumoto teased.

"This coming from the woman who remains naked even with the possible threat of Hollows in the area." she snapped. "What are you planning on doing exactly? Seduce them?"

The blonde woman frowned slightly before she pulled her towel tighter around her. "Oh please, I think your bitchy attitude would be enough to slay them all."

Isane sighed and shook her head at the two once more before she turned back to the men. "Come on, if it just started to rain then we still have a chance to catch this from the start before the Hollows can do much damage- not to mention, it's just Cho and Hinamori out there, against who knows how many; so let's hope it's not like the previous one we fought."

"Oh no… oh no, oh no, no, no." Kiyone started as she slowly backed away from the window before she took off across the room and made for a nearly unseen exit into the outside corridor; only the faint echoing of her feet could be heard just seconds later.

"What the hell…?" Ikkaku remarked as he looked into the direction the woman had rushed from. A sharp crack of wind just outside pulled his attention back to the window on the other side of the room; managing to catch a glimpse of what appeared to have been a newly conformed, yet brief tornado of wind outside. He recognized it as a Kido spell but couldn't really name it- but it meant that someone was out there right now and they were more than likely in trouble. "Aw shit, everyone out!"

As soon as she watched Kiyone make a break for it and a Kido spell follow shortly after, she herself pushed past the men and chased after her; tearing down the corridor, she caught a faint glimpse of the woman before she disappeared around the far corner. The apartment complex always felt like a maze when she was in a hurry like this, always afraid she was going to take a wrong turn or get herself stuck in the elevator somewhere. Not that she hadn't already been down these same corridors time and time again. The open lobby downstairs had only a few scattered guests and she couldn't help but to feel slightly embarrassed as she pushed past some and hurried on outside; feeling the sudden drop of the temperature immediately hit her the moment she stepped out.

She had almost been too distracted by the sudden weather change to even notice where her sister went- not that that lasted all too long as she caught sight of her running down the sidewalk and quickly followed after. "Kiyone!"

"Sentaro!"

"Hinamori!"

What was this? A screaming party?

The sound of a sharp hiss called for her attention as she paused just long enough to notice the dark figure in the middle of the street; it wasn't so much tall as it was wide as the body itself seemed to be constantly changing. "What on Earth…" before she could get a clearer picture of it, she watched as Sentaro seemed to willingly throw himself against the Hollow and managed to knock it back a few feet or so.

"Come on, no time for questioning!" Momo called as she ushered them along; part of her face seemed only charred as a black liquid coated down to her neck. "There's two more down the street and I left Chojiro alone to fight them for now."

"What? Nevermind, Sentaro keep this one busy- the others should be down here in a few seconds; Kiyone, come with me; Hinamori, show the way."

The shorter woman took off in a flash at the words and left them slightly in her dust before they rushed to catch up with her; she kept a mental note to mind her steps and not slip into the ground painfully. The slight downhill drop of the street nearly caused for her lose her footing but she was able to keep herself fairly balanced as she maintained an equal balance between her and Hinamori. But the sounds of a battle in the distance ensured her that they were at least getting close; the sharp sparks coming from conflicting blades also added to that insurance.

"Chojiro!" Momo shouted as she drew her sword back in mid-run and engulfed it into flames before she released the heated energy; watching as it smoked out and embedded itself into the back of one of the slender Hollows, knocking it to the ground easily. "Hell yes!"

"Coming up behind you!" Kiyone called; pulling ahead of the two before she managed to counterstrike the lifting Hollow's revenge move. Her blade caught one of its arms and knocked it from its position as a dark-purple, aura shot off into another direction. "Where did these guys come from anyways?"

"Out of nowhere it seemed." Chojiro answered as he braced his sword in front of him to block the two bladed arms that moved to strike him. "If anything… this may be our chance to take."


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: Okay, so unfortunately I got my new class schedule yesterday and it appears as though I'll be having one of the more difficult classes this month. Which means, I'll more than likely not have as much free time as I'd like. Rest assured, I have about... five or six chapters typed in advance and I may be able to get more, but just in case I don't update on time, it's because of college and all its crazy shit. **

"The women just beat us to the battle."

"That doesn't really do well for our man cards." Yumichika remarked as he followed closely behind his fellow Division member; trying to ignore the filtering crowd of people that resided in the lobby as they rushed past them and headed out the front door. The rain outside wasn't near as heavy as he thought it was but the light sheets proved to be more annoyance than anything. They were barely out around the first corner before he watched as a flash of movement caught his eye just before it slammed right into Ikkaku and knocked the man clean off his feet. "What the fuck-" he started; stopping in the midst of movement to see what had happened but found himself distracted by a faint hiss. Slowly, he turned back towards the noise and looked at the larger figure that began to walk in their direction. He couldn't entirely see all the details due to the growing darkness outside and the rush of rain but… telling from the faint rings of energy, it was in fact a Hollow; luckily, a lower leveled one, probably middle stage at least. It should be easy for them to take out.

"Yo, Sentaro, when you feel like it, can you get off me?" Ikkaku muttered; shoving the other man off him as he moved to push himself back to his feet. "Jeez, didn't we just finish getting over one attack?"

"Well, can't say that we aren't actually looking forward to this, right?" Yumichika reminded. "Maybe he's the one causing the barrier. Who knows."

"It's either him or his other partners." Sentaro remarked as he slowly picked himself up off the ground; one hand touching at the thick mess of black liquid that had coated one shoulder. It was burning against his skin but every time he went to remove it, it only made the pain worse- leaving him with the decision to just leave it alone. "Momo reported that there were two more Hollows just down the street from here; the women went off to handle it."

"We're all losing just a bit more off that card now, aren't we?" Ikkaku commented; releasing his sword from where it had been originally masked in the form of a chained necklace. He glanced back at the sound of new arrivals and watched as the dark-haired Eighth Lieutenant and the blonde-headed Tenth Lieutenant finally appeared from around the corner; fully dressed this time. "Nanao, Matsumoto, go check on the others; they're just down the street- can't be all too hard to miss."

"Alright, just try not to get yourselves killed." Matsumoto offered as she passed them by.

"And do be careful… I'm sensing something different from these things." Nanao added before she followed after the other woman.

"Will do." Sentaro nodded; watching as the women took off down the street before he turned back to the other two. "One note on this thing, don't get all too close to it; it expels this black stuff that'll stick to your skin like glue; I don't know what it does after that but I'm not really looking forward to it."

"I'm assuming you learned this from experience then?" Ikkaku questioned.

"Why yes, yes I did."

"It's never a mystery with you, Sentaro." Yumichika remarked as he moved to release his own sword; watching as the Hollow before them seemed to show little interest in them at the moment. Instead, it turned its husk of a body after where Nanao's figure was disappearing just down the street. He moved in to intersect it, only to watch as a burst of speed had it easily pass him by and escape the blockage. "I think it's trying to regroup with the other two!"

"Good." Ikkaku called as he raced after the thing.

"And why the hell is that good?" he shouted before he took after the bald man; followed closely by the Thirteenth Lieutenant, who nearly passed him by easily. How the hell could something that big move so quickly? It seemed like it was breaking the laws of physics with that kind of movement.

"Because then we could regroup with our other members just the same; it just might be easier to fight in a group rather than take these guys out with just the few of us."

"That's a good idea." Sentaro nodded.

"You just want to see Kiyone again." Yumichika replied.

"Hey, you can't deny that that family has some good genes in it."

* * *

><p>"Sweet Saints!" Kiyone gasped as she just barely managed a quick back step to avoid getting herself disemboweled by the sharpened tip of the Hollow's blades. She felt a hand drop by and push her aside before she watched as a blade slid cleanly into the figure's chest; shredding flesh and splintering ribs easily as the tip of the sword protruded out the back of the Hollow. "Why does it have blades as hands?"<p>

"I don't know but it is scary." Momo answered as she pulled her sword free and flash stepped out of the way of the creature's swing once more; dragging the blonde-haired woman with her. "In all honesty, I've never encountered Hollows with… these kind of properties before. I don't think they're organic."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't exactly explain it right now, but I get the feeling that these things didn't come naturally."

Isane watched from a fairly safe distance as Hinamori and Kiyone decided to tag team to take on one of the oddly slender figures; Cho had one easily taken care of by himself as he tore through its defenses again and again. So far so good, the battle seemed to be progressing decently and… no one seemed to be having any difficulties just yet- not to mention, there was no need for her to get involved either so that was another plus. She jumped slightly at the sound of joining sets of footsteps and turned in time to see Nanao and Matsumoto coming down the street; a faint sigh of relief escaped her as it was reassuring sign that it wasn't yet another Hollow in the same area. "Nanao, Rangiku, how are things going up there?"

"They're handling it well enough from what I could see." Nanao nodded as she slowly brought herself up to the taller woman's side. "Let me ask you… does anything feel odd about the Hollow presences right now?"

"You're still stuck on that?" Matsumoto questioned.

She thought back on the question and moved her eyes to scope over the field once more; watching the battles carry on as Momo executed another small explosion that propelled the Hollow backwards. As far as she could tell, nothing seemed out of the ordinary to her. "No… not really. Why? What's your intake on it?"

The other woman merely shook her head and pushed up on her rain-smeared glasses. "Nothing, I suppose I'm just being hypersensitive about this whole thing. It's probably a mere flux in energy from one of these bumbling brutes."

"Alright, well… just don't go near any of them; Captain Shunsui will kill us all if he finds out you've been injured."

"Oh please, Captain Shunsui will have to deal with it."

She let a light chuckle escape her and moved to make a response only to stop at the sound of a faint shout that paused their conversation; she watched as a flash of movement rushed past them before it stopped with a sharp collision in the ground, there was no bouncing or a roll to break the pressure… just one hit. "What the-" she started, only to watch as two more figures went flying by and landed fairly in the same spot; smashing themselves into one another and creating a tangled mess.

"Oh dear…"

Kiyone turned sharply at the shout and watched as the three figures smashed themselves into the street just a few yards away from her. It didn't take much to identify them but still she wasn't entirely sure if she was willing to comprehend it as such. "Sentaro? You okay?"

A long groan escaped him as he moved to push himself up; allowing for the body on top of him to roll off to the side. "Ahh… yeah, it's all good- just uh, ignore us for now." Pushing himself to his feet, he gave a slight shake of his body to try and rid himself of the constricting sense of pain that flushed through him. "You guys still good?"

"Yeah, I take hits like that all the time." Ikkaku answered as he rubbed at the back of his head and got to his feet. "Shit, I was not expecting him to have an arm like that… how the fuck did it manage to hit us all at once like that?"

Yumichika groaned as he touched at the scraped mess of his right temple before he moved to regain his height; feeling as though his legs were bound to give out underneath him from having to support his weight now… he must've landed on something a bit harder than he thought. "Well seeing as we all decided to stand around him like assholes, it didn't really take much to knock us down here… but look at that, at least we regrouped, right?"

"Oh true. Less work for us, maybe we should thank him." Ikkaku muttered; recovering his sword from where it had been knocked aside. "Alright, let's pick up where we left off and finish this thing."

Stooping down to pick up his own sword, he glanced up at a long hiss and watched as the Hollow from before began to close the space between them; lumbering down the street closer and closer towards them. Okay so that was probably its plan all along… and they fell into it. Weren't they the smart ones. Sighing, he shook his head to try and rid himself of the throbbing headache that continued to persist from the rough landing; brushing aside dark-purple strands to pull them from his face. "Alright, well the whole group's here, for both sides, so let's see where we can take this."

"I'll join in if you boys don't mind." Matsumoto offered as she joined their small group.

"Sentaro, go keep an eye on Lieutenants Momo and Kiyone; make sure they don't break a nail or something." Ikkaku started. "The three of us will take out this brute and make for one less Hollow."

"That I can do." Sentaro nodded before he took off to join the other battle.

Bringing his sword up in time for his defense, Chojiro braced himself against the dueling weights that were brought down on top of the blade; feeling his shoulders snap back in pain for a moment before he moved his own weight forward and tossed the Hollow back. He watched as it seemed to stumble for a moment before it caught itself; its body snapping back towards him before a rushed step caught his attention off-guard. A brief shoulder to the chest pushed him back and furthered his grasp of attention on the battle.

The tip of the Hollow's swords pierced easily through his sides as they curved up against his ribcage; a flush of red liquid streamed downward against the silver blades as the skin peeled away to ruptured vessels.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: I've mentioned it in other stories and probably here too but I really actually don't like typing fight scenes; I've gotten better since before but I still consider my own to be choppy and sometimes uncoordinated. This one, for instance, with the eight or nine characters, it gets really hard to follow and sometimes confusing, so I won't be surprised if you tell me you lost track of what was going on; in my head, it could happen flawlessly but that doesn't always translate well into writing. I won't lie, I do the fight scenes because I enjoy describing injuries. And I enjoy beating up my favorite characters sometimes... so if you thought Cho had it rough at the end of that last chapter, I'll have to go ahead and apologize for it now. Thanks for the reviews though, and I will try my best to pass this class, turns out my partners are pretty chill and seem like they'll do their share of work. I'll stop rambling on about my own personal life though and get back to the story here. **

There was a sharp crack as thick bolts of lightning seemed to radiate themselves from the Hollow's blades before they erupted outward; the yellow beams pressed themselves into the open wounds of his side and proceeded to electrocute him from the inside out- charring the vulnerable tissue. As much as the electricity seemed to be turned against him now, he knew well he couldn't let it control him or damage him as such. Hands reached forward and grasped tightly to the Hollow's arms, the fleshy part of them at least, before he charged his own attack.

Isane jumped slightly at the sound of a greater crack of lightning that shot across the sky before she glanced over to where Chojiro had been battling; already knowing well that he was the one responsible for it. Her eyes widened as she witnessed the heavy bolts that pulsed between their two bodies.; the First Lieutenant tied in combat with the other Arrancar, who seemed to be the main one who pushed the streaks of electricity through his skin. She watched as his footing slid back as the heartless form slowly began to claim the upper hand over him and pushed him back with every strengthening shock of energy. She was in the midst of running to his aid before she watched as the lightning bolts suddenly sparked uncontrollably before his grip on the white-skinned Arrancar tightened; it seemed as though his eyes themselves lit up with energy- like that same spark of lightning was bouncing about inside of them.

Another loud pop erupted as a massive wave of electricity encircled his form and almost seemed to engulf him before it exploded outwards; blasting the Arrancar from in front of him and ripping through the front half of his body- leaving it badly charred by the electric explosion as flesh peeled open to reveal partly shattered bones and blackened muscles.

Heavy pants escaped his bleeding lips as he stepped forward to continue his assault; he only made it a few shaky steps to finish off the Hollow before one hand moved to the flat of his sternum. He shared an expression she had witnessed once or twice before; that same sense of shock and breathlessness that could strike with the same speed of that lightning assault.

Not here. Not now. Please.

But the opened vulnerability was all the Arrancar needed to launch his counter attack.

There was a sickening crunch as one of its bladed arms ripped downwards into the First Lieutenant's neck; splitting open the flesh easily in one strike as a rush of blood seemed to spew itself outward through the clean cut. That was all it took to send his weakened body into the ground; blood disgorged in shuddered sprays as the split artery trembled with the static stillness of his heart beat. Despite the pain and approaching sense of darkness, he still did his best to get back up; trying to shoulder through the impossible crisis as outside and inner forces attempted to be the death of him.

The edge of her own blade caught the second arm that attempted to strike downward as she pushed her body between the two of them; she caught the weight of the would-be attack and forced most of her strength to throw the bladed-arm upward. She wasn't a combative unit, what the hell was she doing? One hand pressed itself into the already charred chest plate of the heartless fellow and she watched as a burst of red seemed to illuminate beneath its skin. The short kido blast was enough to push it back unguarded- hopefully leaving her enough time to heal his injury; if she could just seal the artery, then he had a better chance at survival. Damn the situation, she couldn't even perform the necessary techniques to keep him conscious long enough to take him elsewhere for the needed emergency surgery. If he didn't get help now… it would be too late later.

She dropped to her knees at his side and pressed her hands against his ruptured neck; feeling the way the skin shifted beneath her touch and the warm flush of blood as it pressed through her fingers. "Hang in there, Cho… please."

His skin was flushing out a deep paleness as the tense expression on his face seemed to only hint at the struggle it took for him to keep breathing, to keep conscious; even he seemed to know, the moment he closed his eyes, there was a good chance they weren't going to open again. His chest jerked inward with every tortured gasp that pierced from his bleeding lips; his entire body rocked with the pain that echoed out from his emptying chest. Still… he moved one hand to grasp lightly to her wrist- a signal that he tried to pass on and let her know he was still fighting; he wasn't going to go down easy now.

The flush of blue light from her palms didn't seem to flare up fast enough as she tried to get the energy circulating as fast as she could; the sooner the better… if any scar tissue was produced in the attempt, well it wasn't like it was going to be all too hindering, proper surgery could fix it later. She just needed to close the artery first. Eyes tried to find the ruptured gel-like tube that raced through threads of packed muscles; hoping to see the thin tissue sealing itself beneath the healing energy. It was only assumptions that when the skin of the slash began to roll back together that meant the artery was already healed- Gods she hoped so.

Just a few more seconds-

Her breath seemed to catch in her throat as she felt the smooth slide of the blade as it pierced through her own body; moving just beneath the curve of her ribcage as it impaled out through her stomach. Eyes slowly dropped to where the point of the blade stuck freely out of her abdomen; flooding her white shirt with a rush of blood that seemed to slowly escape at first before it began to pick up a steady outward flow. The pain itself seemed delayed before it rushed at her; suffocating every broken nerve and rupturing through her burning flesh as it sheared with heat from the impalement.

Now she remembered why she wasn't a combative unit.

"I got you!"

The shout seemed to be distanced slightly before a rush of a figure moving past her said otherwise. There was a sharp crack as a stainless blade cut easily through fragile bone; she could feel the blade impaled through her shift slightly before the pressure seemed to release itself. The arm may have been detached but it was still stuck beneath her ribcage- she wasn't even sure if she could bear to rip it out herself. Hazel eyes forced her to turn and look back at the battle; watching as Sentaro took easily to battle with the now one-armed Arrancar- proving to be quite a match against the heartless figure as he threw his strength behind every slash.

**X**

Kiyone turned as she watched Sentaro rush from the battle; her eyes followed him to the other side of the street and watched as he amputated one of the Hollow's arms in one swing. Did he just ditch their battle to go to another? As soon as she questioned herself on the matter, she took note of the other two; Lieutenant Chojiro appeared to be passed out or something with blood all over his neck- was his injury fatal? And knelt beside him was Isane, who appeared to be administering medical aid… then she noticed the bladed arm that stuck out through her body.

"Isane!" Kiyone shouted as she pushed herself from the battle she had been engaged in and rushed towards her injured sister; watching as the older woman seemed to be settled in some sense of shock but continued to heal the fallen Lieutenant.

"Kiyone!" Momo called before she turned back to block the Hollow as it struck at her during her brief moment of distraction. She wasn't entirely expecting to have to face this thing by herself- she always wasn't expecting to see the other two run off like that. Tossing the heartless form back, she went in for a sharp strike but watched as both Ikkaku and Matsumoto rushed in to finish it off. Stepping back, she opted to take their places and went back to the third Hollow that she had encountered before- the one that spat out some kind of black liquid; her face was still burning from the tar-like substance that burned away at her skin.

"What was that all about?" Yumichika questioned as he flashed to her side and waited for the creature to make a move before he would follow through after it.

"I don't know, I think something happened to Isane though." Momo answered; cringing slightly as she watched the Hollow skin bubble up again before it seemed to break out into multiple sets of whipping tentacles. Ugh, why the hell did these things have to be so grotesque? She glanced over to see that the Eleventh Division member seemed to be caught off-guard by what she said and showed little reaction to the constantly reforming Hollow. "Don't tell me you're going to ditch me too."

"What? No, I'm sure Sentaro can take care of things." Yumichika replied as he forced himself to redirect his attention once more; finding himself instantly repulsed by the site in front of him. "That is disgusting beyond-" he didn't get a chance to finish his words before he watched as one of the extra limbs shot clean off past him; targeting someone behind him now.

Kiyone barely made it a few yards away before a sharp force latched to her ankle and yanked it out from underneath; the snapping of several bones echoed in her head as her body collapsed harshly into the pavement below. Shearing hot pain flooded through her right leg as her ankle felt as though it had been internally detached. She rolled herself over and looked back to see that the massive form of the third Hollow had snagged her with some kind of tentacle-like appendage- where the hell did it get those? Its once former identity seemingly shifting in front of her as its skin seemed to bloat outward and harden into a new form.

A sense of fear rushed through her as a sharp tug had her quickly skidding across the pavement and had her flesh ripping from the uneven ground. Fingertips were busted open and torn apart as they were used in an attempt to keep herself from going any closer to the thing- a futile attempt at that.

Yumichika glanced back at the screams and watched the tense scene that quickly unfolded itself before them. "Shit, shit, shit." the words left in a blurred speech as he forced himself forward to try and cease the attack; Momo tight at his side as she was already charging up another one of her fire-based Kido spells. They were barely even a foot or so from it and it was like watching in slow motion as two new tentacles broke free. One of them easily dispatched Momo and sent her skidding several yards down the street; a second one collided harshly with his chest and he met the same fate as the Fifth Lieutenant. As if he hadn't already been struck against the pavement plenty of times before.

"You okay?" Momo questioned as she forced herself back up; groaning at the aches that rushed through her.

"I'll live." he nodded; pushing himself back up. "Come on, we gotta keep going."

Shaking his head, he forced himself to race back towards the battle; bypassing the ongoing confrontation that Ikkaku and Matsumoto held against the second Hollow. He watched as the screaming from the Thirteenth half-Lieutenant drew the attention of her partner who had taken Chojiro's place of battle. There was no doubt that he was going to abandon that fight just the same to save the woman- leaving him the opening of battle to take his place now. If Sentaro was going to run back and rescue Kiyone, then he had to step in and protect both Isane and Chojiro while they were temporarily out of battle.

"I'll rescue my girl, you protect yours!" Sentaro shouted at him as they briefly crossed paths.

Fuck, how true those words were.

His sword was already braced as he struck the charred Arrancar; showing little mercy in the heavy downward swing that almost threatened to decapitate the figure had it not moved at the last minute. The blade lodging itself into its clavicle instead and slightly locking in place. He cursed at the sword as it took nearly a heavier pull to free itself from the half-chopped bone and delayed his next move of attack- it just about left him open for a barely-missed disemboweling move from the Hollow.

Keep calm, Ayasegawa.


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: Yeah I kind of just noticed how short this battle thing was, that might've been a good thing though; that way, it doesn't get too boring or start to slow things down. Thanks for the reviews!**

"Sentaro!" Kiyone started as she watched the man rush by.

Without hesitation, he amputated the sickly tentacle in a single blow- maybe taking too much pride in watching the withering limb thrash about as black liquid spewed from the open wound. "Don't worry, I got this-" he called back to her before a sharp turn of movement caught his eye. He turned in time to watch as the massive body of the former Hollow almost seemed to topple towards him; the flesh cracking and breaking apart before it ripped itself open along an invisible seam. There was barely enough time to try and get away from its self-bodied attack but its advance in motion was far too fast for him to escape from.

His left arm was caught in the twisted mess of the open seam as a forced turn speared him back towards the withering body. The seam ripped wider before the skin peeled completely and appeared to engulf him fully; appearing to have eaten and swallowed him whole. It was a mass of thick darkness that spread around him as the heated pressure of what felt like intestines encircled around him. He struggled against the tight hold and felt the seam beginning to rip open once more and allow him a brief glimpse of freedom.

That's when he felt the sharp pierce of something invading through his flesh. It was followed by another, and another… and another.

She tried not to focus all too much on the pain of her ankle as she pushed herself up; trying to suppress the sharp cries that wanted to scream out as her leg just about collapsed underneath her from the weight- her separated bones unable to support her body despite the demand for it to. Blurred vision looked up at muffled shouts before she watched as the Hollow's outer skin split open and thick trails of blood oozed out; it wasn't black like the heartless'… it was red. Eyes continued to watch just before a heavy explosion struck the Hollow's one side and completely blew it apart into a mess of tissue and bone fragments; sickly bundles of flesh littered the pavement around them.

Hands seemed to reach out before the black-haired man pulled himself free; blood pumping out of the deep gorges that tore through his body and left him partly paralyzed by the pain. Peeling himself out of the fresh wound, he tore his sword free before ramming the tip of it into the very chest of the Hollow; listening and observing the deep shrieks that pierced freely from some unknown set of lungs. Its flesh continued to peel apart from beneath the force of the explosion; revealing its 'Iron Maiden' like trap that had caught him before and punctured specific areas of his body to rupture a few arteries- luckily he had gotten out before too much damage could be taken.

"I'll finish it from here!" Momo called as she charged up another attack along the silver metal of her blade. "You two get out and keep away."

Nanao moved to watch as the Fifth Lieutenant unleashed another long-charged fire spell and ultimately burned the third Hollow to a crisp; its body blowing away to mere ashes. She was about to compliment the woman on her attack before her attention turned to something far more important. It felt like the energy around them shifted; like the atmosphere itself was moving… it could only mean one thing. These Hollows were the reasons for the barrier in this world; one of them was already done… that would give them enough of a break to force an opening between the dimensions- which meant that they could get back. She would just need a safe place to do so. "Hinamori!" she called; rushing over to the woman.

"One down, two to go; this shouldn't be all too difficult, right?" Momo questioned as she moved to wipe the sweat from her brow. She waited for the woman to get closer before she noticed the concerned expression the woman held. "What is it?"

"When you killed this one, there was a shift in the pressure of the energy here; these have to be the ones that are causing the barrier." Nanao replied. "The energy's unstable right now but it should be enough for me to open up a portal."

"Really? Wait… if we left now, wouldn't we just be leaving this world to the Hollows?"

"What we need is to get back to the Society, report this to everyone and since we can still get back into this world regardless, we can send a more qualified team; not to mention it'll prevent them from sending out more officers." Nanao explained. "It's not an easy concept but I think it might work, alright? We might as well give it a shot."

She gave the plan a few seconds to think over before she nodded. "Good thing we have you here, Nanao; I don't think I would've been able to make that connection. Look, you worry about getting that portal open; I'll make sure nothing tries to sneak up on you."

"Sounds like a plan."

**X**

Sliding back against the pavement, Ikkaku worked himself out from beneath the Hollow's strike and moved to replace it with his own; watching as the Hollow slid back to avoid the swing. "Matsumoto, it's coming back your way!"

"Don't worry, I see it." she called back to him as she braced herself for an attack; her sword pressed forward and managed to lock itself into the Hollow's chest. She grimaced at the sharp crack that followed afterwards and quickly retracted the blade as black liquid flooded out from the open cavity. "Oh dear Gods…"

"Don't get close to it."

"Oh you don't have to tell me twice, Baldy." Matsumoto replied; watching as the Hollow turned back to the other man. "Alright come on, this can't be difficult, right? Just a few more hits and this thing should be going down-" she stopped herself as she watched the two other Lieutenants rush by them; bypassing the fight easily as Ikkaku moved in to block the Hollow when it went to strike. "Where are you two going?"

"Don't worry about it, just give me a few minutes!" Nanao called back.

"Should we be worried?" Ikkaku questioned.

"A tiny bit, yes."

**X**

Slamming his body into the lanky form of the Hollow, he forced it back a few more feet and continued to advance towards it. He couldn't risk letting it get too close to Isane and Chojiro; she was still in the process of healing the First Lieutenant, she couldn't be disturbed. Not to mention the Hollow, sans one arm, was fairly easy to deal with. He could get in a few swift swings and managed to tear open through its sides; there was a mess of black liquid all over the place that he tried not to step in or slip in for that matter.

A quick swing was dodged easily by the Hollow, which left him unfortunately open to attack- which the Hollow did not miss out on the opportunity to do. A quick forward thrust was met with opposition, unfortunately the opposition was in the form of his left shoulder; the sharpened blade cut easily through the flesh and tore apart the muscle like it was nothing. Blood rushed out of injury and dripped down to stain through his shirt just before he forced himself off the blade. Okay, okay… he's gotten worse injuries, this was nothing… at least it wasn't his dominant arm, right? He could still swing his sword at least. Shaking his head, he moved to swing his sword once more and dug the tip of it into the open tissue of the Hollow's neck; tearing through the flesh with some ease.

Shit, every movement only continued to further the pain- it felt like the first attack, with the exception that his shoulder wasn't melted and falling apart. He could still do this. Just a few more hits and this thing should be down. A sharp burst of energy caught his attention though and he glanced over as something highlighted through the air.

"Come on! I can't keep it open forever!" Nanao shouted back towards the mess of conflict as she stepped away from the energy of the dimensional opening; it raged about around her and threatened to knock off her glasses as she tried to turn away from it as much as she could without taking her eyes off it. She was partly surprised that she was able to actually open a portal, let alone maintain it for this long. "We don't have a lot of time left!"

"Fuck, what the hell? How did she managed to get one opened?" Ikkaku shouted as he stepped back from the already withering body of the third Hollow; its form reduced to near shreds after their combined attack.

"Don't question, just go with it!" Matsumoto called back to him.

He looked back at the opened portal before back to the Hollow in front of him. "Alright, okay… you, get Kiyone and Sentaro out of here!"

She nodded and left him to deal with the finishing blow as she rushed towards the injured pair; watching as the male half-Lieutenant barely seemed to be able to stay on his feet for much longer. She cringed at the sight of the deep punctures of his body but watched as he gave little notice to them- far more interested in his equally wounded partner. "Come on you two, there's time to make out later." Matsumoto ushered as she moved to take the other woman's side, only to be partly cut off by Sentaro instead.

"You don't have to tell us twice." Kiyone chuckled weakly; bracing a small grin against her bloodied lips. "The leaving part anyways, I don't know if we'll be able to keep our hands off each other for that long."

"Just go." she pushed with a matching chuckle as she followed after them towards the opening; glancing back in time to see the bald, Eleventh Division member slice down the final blow. "Come on, Ikkaku, we're not going to wait for your bald-head!"

"You just keep going, Miss. Tits McGee." he shouted back to her before he rushed over towards the final battle; watching as Yumichika seemed well in control and on the brink of defeating the Arrancar regardless. "Isane, we have to-"

"You have to get Lieutenant Cho out of here!" she interrupted as she did her best to help the white-haired man to his feet; shouldering most of the force as she was just barely able to support his weight. One arm linked behind his back as she tried to put her knees into the lift. "As soon as you get back to the Society, you get one of the emergency teams, you get Captain Unohana… he needs surgery now but I think I was able to stabilize him long enough to wait- but he doesn't have long."

He nodded and tried to keep his cool as he helped with getting the First Lieutenant back on his feet; a faint slash on his neck was still raw but closed… it looked like it would need further treatment. "You've got to follow close behind us."

"I will." she nodded. "I'll assist Yumichika and once this Hollow is finished, we'll follow. Now go! He doesn't have long!" she watched as he seemed to hesitate slightly but the moment he realized the severity of the First Lieutenant's health, he took off. She glanced back at the ongoing battle before hands moved to push the blade back out of her stomach; she was trying to focus on other things other than the hot pain before she reached back and tried to pull the bladed arm out in one motion- that didn't work though as it came halfway out and then dangled downward to tear the wound open further. Way to go, Kotetsu!

One more pull had it discarded and blood rushing out of the wound. Still, it wasn't the worst and it could've been far more severe. At least it didn't hit any internal organs, right?

Summoning out her sword, she headed into the last battle just as the remaining Arrancar moved to slice open the man's side. It left her with enough of an opening though… enough for her to rush in and bury her blade into the Arrancar's body- almost in the exact place where its arm had been stuck through hers. She wasn't an offensive fighter but… damn to hell if she wasn't a defensive one at that.

Holding the sword in place, she watched as he took the next swing and buried his blade into the Hollow's neck- providing the last necessary blow to end the battle. Pulling her sword free, she watched as the empty body stumbled back from the force before it seemed to stagger in defeat.

It's head rolled back forward at the last minute as the black rings from before dimmed out, almost fading out to white; a slight tremor beneath the skin nearly went unnoticed before the flesh boiled outward. It only took a second's pace before the carved out body erupted in a thick explosion as a last ditch attack. The sheer force behind it proved to be stronger than expected as she felt the sharp blast send her back a few yards; a brief glimpse of being airborne was met with skidding freely across several feet of pure concrete- it felt as though it finally broke and rattled several of her bones before she caught herself enough to stop.

A dull throbbing erupted from the back of her skull and made its way to her temples; an agonizing sense of pain hinted at a mild concussion maybe although she didn't hear any sharp cracks of her skull breaking open- then again, she wasn't really listening for them. Hands moved to push herself up before an object kicked into her side and sent her rolling once more. She tried to get to her feet at the threat of another attack, a fear that came true as a body slowly moved over her own; the wicked, torn expression of one of the previously-discarded Hollows took over her. But… they defeated all of them, how could there be more? No… the wounds and the near decapitation of its head said it had only been previously defeated- or at least thought to have been killed.

And here she was without her blade; it had been separated from her sometime during the collision.

A heavy hiss escaped its ripped mouth as the skinless expression of its face bore far too close to her.

A set of hands seemed to come from nowhere and gripped against the Hollow's jawline; twisting it quickly in one direction to finish off the fragile bones in its neck with a sharp crack- nearly completing its almost decapitation as well. She watched as the body was reduced to nothing more than ashes and evaporated into thin air; hazel eyes slowly moving up to his exhausted form.

"Oh thank Gods." Isane breathed as hands moved to cup her face. "Are you okay?"

"A few cuts and bruises, some broken ribs and more." Yumichika answered as a grim expression seemed to take effect. "I… the explosion gave enough force to unbalance the energy field; the portal's gone."

She tried to find some words in response only to have a sheer silence leave her lips. The dimensional opening was closed… the one chance they had of finally leaving the human world and returning to the Society to regroup over this incident… "We're still stuck here? But… I thought if a portal was able to open in the first place, that meant that… the barrier would've been gone?"

"I thought so too but… I don't believe that's the case this time."


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: I mean, nothing bad could possibly come out of Yumichika and Isane being stuck together alone, right? Am I right? Actually, I have no clue myself so we'll just have to see where it goes from here. Also, as another update, idk if I should really say much about my personal life but... yeah, that whole partner thing... for some reason my partner decided it would be an awesome idea if he just dropped out. So, here I am with a three-member project that's now been cut down to two. Needless to say, I'm a little pissed and a little stressed out right now. My whole thing on that is just I was using free time to work on my stories but now it's going to have to be pushed towards the project instead; I'm hoping I don't let my anger out in the story and decide that it doesn't really need a happy ending after all. I'm just playing, I would never do that. Well, end off that rant. **

There was a sheer rush of heat as she felt the portal close tightly behind them; her slender body just barely making it through the thin opening before it sealed itself after what sounded like a brief explosion on the other side. She could at least count on the soft underbrush to break her fall as she rolled her body across the empty ground; a brief pause gave her the chance to catch her breath and feel the rush of her injuries beginning to sneak up on her before panic pushed her back up onto her bleeding arms. "Is everyone okay?" Momo called.

"I'm in pain but it's all good." Sentaro answered as his hand pressed against the deeper gorge that tore through his stomach; massive spills of blood pushed through his fingers and trailed out to stain the grass beneath him. It kind of felt like he had been disemboweled but he was pretty sure his stomach wall was still intact- or at least he hoped it was. Maybe if he just didn't move, it wouldn't get worse. That worked, right?

"Same here." Kiyone nodded; pushing herself up just on her arms, which were the only things that could support her right now. She looked at the brief dangling form of her ankle; proving that it had completely detached internally as she thought so. The thought of reattaching it just sounded painful enough but… at least it wasn't completely gone, right? She reached over and rested a hand on the man lying next her, just lightly patting his shoulder. "At least we're conscious, right Sentaro?"

"Right we are."

Ikkaku coughed slightly as the rougher than expected collision against the ground left him partly breathless and an earlier stab through the back felt as though it might've nicked part of his lung. Not to mention that earlier toss to the pavement still had bruises covering most of his body. "I'll live hopefully." he replied as one hand moved to rub against his chest as though the motion would help to encourage his lungs to work faster. Ugh, where were they anyways? It looked like some kind of abandoned field… no wait, these were the fields that resided just behind the Second Division House… well shit, Captain Soifon was going to tear them a new one for being on her Division property.

"I've had better days." Cho remarked in a breathless manner as the excruciating pain of his chest felt like suffocation; it felt like someone or something was purposely pressing down against his heart and stilling it despite the best efforts to keep it going. It was a feeling he had been familiar with once before; a few close encounters had also startled the same impact for him. "I do believe I may pass out soon enough though."

"Oh Gods, oh shit, I forgot- we gotta get him to Division Four. Now." Ikkaku called out.

"I'll go get Captain Unohana!" Nanao spoke as she rushed to get to her feet, nearly making herself dizzy at the sudden action before she took off across the field. "See if Isane can't keep him stable just long enough for a team to get here."

"Isane-" Kiyone started as she turned to look for the woman, only to spot Matsumoto instead. She paused slightly before she lifted herself up a bit higher to try and find her. Panic seemed to set in as her sister was no where in sight, at her height… it would've been impossible to miss her. "Isane?"

"She couldn't just have disappeared." Ikkaku spoke as he tried to keep a watch on the First Lieutenant- at least attempting to keep him conscious, which wasn't easy. "Hey Yumichika, where'd your girlfriend go?" he was expecting a harsh yet humorous remark in response… only to have silence. "Yo, Ayasegawa, I was talking to you-" he glanced back expecting to see the man ready to break him a new face… but there was no one but the evening breeze. "… Where the fuck is he?"

"More importantly, where's Isane?" Kiyone replied.

"Oh Gods…" Matsumoto whispered as she slowly coaxed herself to her feet; eyes searching every visible part of the field only to have that unsettling feeling drop into her stomach. "I don't… I don't think they made it."

* * *

><p>"Ha ha, Ukitake, calm yourself; you're going to trigger another attack if you keep overexerting yourself like this."<p>

"This is the first time for weeks I've had the strength to get out of bed, you don't expect me to just sit around and enjoy my time like that do you?"

She chuckled once more and allowed for him to continue to lead her down the Fourth Division corridor; her arm linked tightly with his own. "Alright, fine, one more round but then I insist that you get some rest; you can't just jump back into the action after that last outbreak."

"Can we go for two-" he started; stopping as another figure came speeding around the corner- easily knocking over a gurney of supplies that had been set aside. He watched as the woman made an effort to straighten herself up and pushed up on her glasses as she continued towards them. "Lieutenant Nanao, this is an odd place to meet- is something wrong?"

"Weren't you out on the recall mission?" Unohana questioned.

"Please, I'll explain later, we need your assistance right now." Nanao started; trying to speak and catch her breath at the same time. "Lieutenant Chojiro's on the brink of a cardiac arrest, Isane was able to stabilize him for now but we don't have a lot of time to spare. Officer Sentaro is also suffering massive open wounds to his body and- there's really no time to explain this to you, we need an emergency team to be dispatched right away."

The Fourth Division Captain didn't so much as bat an eyelash at the words and merely nodded. "I'll send out Officer Hanataro's and Officer Yasochika's teams right now; where are the two located?"

"Just out in the fields behind Division Two's building."

"You best get to them before Captain Soifon does." Captain Ukitake remarked.

"I was thinking the same thing." Unohana nodded as she turned back down the corridor, only to see the dark-haired Captain they were speaking about just then. "Captain Soifon, I assume you'll be able to back up this story flawlessly."

"Go ask your working teams." the shorter woman replied; both of her hands latched onto her hips as she walked. "I found the lot of them just lying around on my Division property, at first I thought it was another one of those instances with the fucking, young couples around here… but upon further inspection, I noticed that that wasn't entirely the case. It appears as though there's more to it and I didn't need much of an explanation for it- although I will be demanding for one later on."

Unohana nodded once more before she turned to the Captain beside her. "Ukitake, if you will excuse me, it appears as though I have a minor crisis on my hands; Lieutenant Nanao, if you will follow Captain Soifon, I believe she'll take you to a Fourth Division member who can assist with any injuries you may have. Captain Soifon, if I might ask this favor of you."

The other woman gave a moment before she showed a following nod. "Alright fine, it's not like I had much going on today anyways."

"Thank you, Soifon, it looks like I have a lot of work to do then."

"Another thing, Captain Unohana, your Lieutenant wasn't out there with them."

* * *

><p>It was a frantic rush back to the apartment once more in what might've seemed like a déjà vu moment; injuries were a bit harder to hide as they could only hope and pray that their Gigai's didn't give the bleeding away to those few people who were standing outside once the rain started to clear. She found it a bit harder to move, not like it had been with the spikes, but her breathing was greatly affected; still, she tried to keep in time with him and made the trip go by faster with a quicker pace.<p>

Hands fumbled to get the apartment key ready as they pushed in through the lobby and tried to maintain a bit more of a… 'casual' style of movement; still keeping a slight run in their step as they hurried on past the clerk and into the nearest available elevator. It was a silent ride up to their floor and an even quieter walk down the winding corridor before she reached out when their door came up. It felt like the door couldn't unlock itself soon enough as she shoved it from its frame and slightly stumbled inside. One hand kept pressed against the hollowed out gorge just beneath her ribcage although it did little to cease the blood flow that pushed through her fingers.

He pressed the door back closed behind them and sealed it with the locks; taking a brief moment to catch his breath as he kept one hand against the open wound of his shoulder. It wasn't bad though, barely in and out but that didn't mean that it didn't hurt like a sonvabitch. Still, he wasn't the only one injured though as he turned his attention back to the ailing woman. "Here… let me have a look at it."

"It's not as bad as it probably looks, at least it didn't hit anything major." she winced as she peeled her hand away for a moment and looked at the massive spill of blood in her palm. "Oh jeez… okay so that 'not hitting anything major' part might be true but… the rest could probably be slightly altered."

He felt himself wince at the words before he carefully walked over to her; watching as she slowly lifted the former white material of her shirt to reveal the half-fist size impalement wound. The skin was ripped outward in serrated tears as fresh blood pumped its way outward and stained down her stomach; the torn muscle wall inside was pressed together as inflammation seemed to spread through the threads and tissue. There was already heavy bruising showing up around the wound, proving just how badly it had hit in that short amount of time. "Alright, jeez, we're just… we have to clean the wound out and get the bleeding to stop; I don't think you're in any condition to heal yourself."

"It's okay… I think it's just the shock of it really…" she tried to explain. "I just need to rest for a moment and recollect myself. I might've cracked my head open a bit so that might have something to do with it."

He nodded briefly before he moved to step around her. "Let me get a towel and we can keep pressure against it for the time being." she only seemed to nod back at him before he continued on to the bathroom; quickly grabbing one of the available towels that hung from the nearest rack. He started to leave but stopped when he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror- Gods, he looked like shit; his features slightly hardened from the battle and… for his own personal worry for her. But he couldn't stay here, she still needed him.

The wound seemed to get worse every time she looked at it; she tried to convince herself that it was just her mind playing tricks on her, purposely making it worse with every glance. But she also tried to keep some kind of reasoning with it too… it was a through and through injury, placed just beneath her ribcage, there should've been a sense of severity to it. Plus the blood loss made it seem worse and brought a sense of light-headedness to her body. She probably should keep that in check. Hazel eyes looked up at his return and took the thin towel he offered her. "Thanks… if I can get the bleeding stabilized for awhile, then I can heal it."

"Whatever you need to do." he replied as he watched her press part of the towel against the front section of the wound; wincing as she had to force pressure against the still raw wound. "I… do you need any help?"

"No, well maybe…"


	27. Chapter 27

A deep look of concern crossed the Captain for a moment as her dark eyes went from one person to the next; her lips lightly pressed together as though in thought and in recollection of what they just reported to her. It was almost an unsettling feeling as the Captain had said little to nothing since they rushed in here and ultimately blurted out everything as quickly as they could. She was still dressed in her scrubs- more than likely after that emergency surgery on Lieutenant Chojiro- her black braid pulled back behind her shoulders for the moment.

"So the portal was forced closed behind you?" it seemed to take eternity before the woman finally posed her question.

"Yes." Matsumoto nodded.

"I think there might've been some kind of explosion on the other side that disrupted the energy pattern." Nanao stepped in. "The portal was unstable from the start because of the barrier's growing weakness… it was strong enough to pass through but we were afraid it wasn't going to last long and we tried to hurry. I… I do believe some sort of explosion might've been a catalyst of some sort."

The Fourth Division Captain gave a light nod and seemed to look off for a moment in thought. "Yes well then… Lieutenant Isane knows how to take care of herself; the Division will manage on without her presence for now… we should be able to go back and retrieve both her and Officer Yumichika in a few days."

"A few days? I think we need to go back right now." Momo started; both arms wrapped tightly in bandages as an orange-colored ointment was spread across the burns that had covered half of her face.

"We can't risk opening another portal right now." Unohana remarked. "We can't risk disturbing that same barrier again, who knows what kind of consequences it could have; it would be safer if we didn't send in any more officers, at least until we get this situation under control."

"Yes but-"

"You've returned from your recent mission with two members in critical conditions, one of which was very well on the verge of death when he finally got here; another member with non-life threatening injuries, and plenty of scraps and bruises to go around. It may not sound like much but… there should be focus put on those two who are severely injured, I don't want to see anyone else here in that same kind of condition. So until further notice, there is to be no more transport between the worlds. I've already spoken to Captain Yamamoto about it and he's issued the same statement. Don't worry… they can take care of themselves."

There was no sense in arguing with the Fourth Captain as the three of them merely nodded in defeat and watched as the woman excused herself to leave. Matsumoto allowed for a brief sigh to escape her as she ruffled her hair and slowly turned back to the other two. "So, what do we do now?"

"Well, first off, I don't want to be the one who has to tell Kiyone." Nanao started as she pushed up on her glasses with her own brief exhale. "Second… well we don't really have any other choice but to accept it and move on. We can only hope that it won't be too long of a period of waiting and that they won't run into any more trouble."

"Yeah but… those Hollows that we killed, those should've been the ones responsible for the barrier… so shouldn't it be gone?" Momo questioned.

"Technically yes, but it could just be a reserve of power that the barrier's running on or… those weren't the ones involved." Nanao answered. "And, if so, then they'll need to find the ones responsible and get rid of them."

Matsumoto groaned and lightly cupped her face in her hands. "We suffered through two attacks in a short amount of time, there's a good chance there's going to be a third one or even more. I just, I don't think they'll be able to handle it; they've got one fighter and one healer, who's not even a combative unit."

"I don't know, she seemed pretty combative to me." Momo reminded.

"Yeah in a defensive kind of way."

"Close enough for me."

"I know, everyone's worried about them and all but… we're going to have to sacrifice some fate." Nanao commented. "In the mean time, let's try to collect the facts that we know and see if we can't figure this thing out; we have the resources and safety here to do it, not to mention timing is more on our side than theirs."

"I don't even know where we would start." Matsumoto replied.

"Let's start off by not telling Kiyone."

"Even better."

"We should at least check on her though…" Momo started as she glanced down the corridor to where the woman's door was just slightly left opened. "Make sure she's okay and all. I mean, she got a few cuts and bruises, her ankle was detached, nothing fatal but she's probably on a lot of painkillers."

"Which means she'll probably say all sorts of things." Matsumoto sighed as one hand moved to brush aside her blonde strands. "Which also means, she might not even noticed Isane missing… or we could bullshit around an answer long enough until she passes out; we'll have to deal with a real answer later on but at least by then we'll think of a suitable way to let her know."

Nanao nodded before she moved to continue down the corridor; fingertips pushing up on her glasses. "We can at least check up on how she's doing, drugged up or not. As well, let's not mention anything about Sentaro either, mostly the whole part where some of his injuries were marked as severe and had to be taken care of through surgery. Let's just try and find a suitable conversation piece that won't bring any of this up to her attention." stepping carefully to the door, she eased it open with her fingertips and peeked in; taking note that the blonde-haired woman was seemingly sprawled out across her bed- probably not how she had been positioned in the first place. "Kiyone, are you awake in here?"

A long groan seemed to pass from the woman as she slowly pushed herself over onto her back once more; one hand partly going to push aside her bangs, but from the elongated groan that followed, she might've just poked herself in the eye instead. "Oh my Gods… how long have I been out?"

"Like, ten minutes." Matsumoto answered as she followed in through the doorway; making sure to close it behind her after Momo passed by. "You feeling any better? They might've drugged you up on some painkillers or something."

"I feel fine, I just… I think I slept on my neck wrong." she remarked as one hand moved to rub the back of her shoulder. "Do you guys know where Sentaro is?"

"Oh, he's… around." Momo commented slowly as she moved around to the other side of the woman's bed. "I'm sure he's probably just down the hallway in his own room recovering from this whole mess." she glanced back to the other two who could only shrug her on. "You'll probably be able to see him soon; don't worry though, I think he'll be okay without you for a few hours."

Kiyone chuckled lightly as she fell back against the pillows behind her. "You know what, we were talking the other day in the park, just kind of messing around since there wasn't anything better to do, and I asked if he would ever want kids. He told me he did but that the parents would probably be pissed if we just went and took one."

"Sadly enough, that sounds like something he'd say." Matsumoto replied with her own chuckle before she leaned over to Nanao. "I can't tell if she's actually under the influence of painkillers or if this is just her being herself."

"I was feeling the same." she nodded back.

"That reminds me… what about Isane? Are they sending a team in after her?"

Momo drew in a long, sharp inhale before she glanced at the other two once more. "Um well… yeah, they're getting a team together and in a few days they'll be ready to deploy back into the human world; I'm sure she's fine though, I mean she has Yumichika with her at least."

"Ew. I can't let Isane be alone with a boy."

"Oh don't worry, it's just Yumichika." Matsumoto assured.

"Yeah but he poured his heart out to her that one time… I think that means something; I mean, I'm not saying Isane would be irresponsible- not like I would- but still… I don't think I would even know how she'd handle herself around a guy."

"Like I said before, it's just Yumichika."

"I don't think you're helping." Nanao muttered before she turned back to the resting woman. "Look, don't worry about anything right now; you need your rest, so just leave it to us to get everything figured out. We'll get them back before anything that's going through your head right now actually happens."

"I'm too young to be an aunt."

"She's finally lost it." Matsumoto remarked.

Momo chuckled lightly before she turned back to the other two. "Look, I'll stay here with Kiyone for awhile; Captain Unohana doesn't want me leaving the Division premises for awhile anyways because of my burns. If you guys want to get a head start on trying to solve this matter, go for it, I'll just have to check up with you later on it."

"Alright, I'll see if there's anything in the library about it." Nanao nodded.

"I'll check with Captain Hitsugaya and see if he knows anything; if anything, I'm hoping it's just a lingering presence in the human world and that the barrier will be dropped in a few days. I just… I'm hoping it's not yet another Hollow presence; I don't think those two will last all too long if they had to face one."

"Perhaps so, perhaps not, we'll just have to see."

"What do you think they would name their child, if they had one?"

"I don't know Kiyone, you know her best."


	28. Chapter 28

A soft groan escaped her as the faint motion of consciousness began to wake her. She let her head roll back slightly as her hands slowly moved to press against her forehead; the headache that seemed to haunt her the day before was still living inside of her skull, still as strong and vibrant as it was. If only it would go away, maybe then she could work on getting a grasp on her surroundings. She didn't even remember falling asleep last night… she remembered the blood pumping out of her abdomen, she remembered a few bits and pieces before that… the portal closing, everyone else gone, yeah that was probably where she wanted to draw the memory line. If only she could actually forget about all of that in fact. If only her headache could make that go away instead.

She gently shifted her body slightly, trying to figure out why the couch felt so uneven and lumpy underneath her; or at least she thought it felt like it was.

Another groan seemed to spark from somewhere else as she felt the minor tightness around her abdomen loosen slightly. "Aw shit, I'm still underneath you… just thought you should know."

"Oh goodness-" she started as she turned slightly to see where the voice came from only to prove her slight lack of grace and… tumbled herself freely off the side of the couch. Luckily she managed to partly catch herself on one arm and recover some bit of poise as she landed a bit more comfortably on her back. There was that brief moment of stillness as she tried to figure out the ongoing situation and he tried to make sure she was alright; it was just one of those instances where… laughing seemed like the only way to fix it.

He pushed himself up onto the support of one arm; a brief sense of concern and confusion made his expression as he thought she would still be in some sense of pain… and instead she seemed to be enjoying herself- or at least the quiet hums of laughter that left her noted it as such. "Are you… okay?"

Her hands were still cupped over her face as she could only nod back in response. It took her a few moments to recover before she drew in a deep breath to try and calm herself. Fingers moved to run through her hair and lightly hold the heavy bangs from her face. "Yeah, it's just… you know, we're stuck here and we can't do anything about it; we're cut off completely from Soul Society and before I was okay with it because there was a group of us and… now it's just two; we can't even really do anything until that barrier goes down- which means those Hollows from last night weren't the reasons for it. All that happens in the time span of one night… and all I can think is that I just squished you into the couch."

Maybe it was her tone or the look of just pure simplicity in her expression but he found himself caught in that same sense of humor. He brushed aside his purple strands and chuckled briefly to himself. "Yeah well, it's not the worst thing that's happened to me."

"I mean, what is there even for us to do in this kind of situation?" Isane questioned. "It's not like we can just go out and go gun-ho on anything that seems suspicious; we're the outnumbered ones this time, I don't even think combined we could hold out a battle… I wouldn't even know where to start. And yet… I'm not the least bit scared of it."

"Really? I think I'm kind of between the point of being frightened and scared shitless of it." he replied.

She chuckled quietly once more before she reached over rested her hand on the edge of the couch, just briefly covering his own in the process. "That's a normal reaction, if anything that's probably one of the more healthier ones in this kind of state; I blame Division Four for making me… kind of oblivious to things like fear. Then again we're mostly on edge anyways and we're far too used to seeing death to ever be comfortable with… it's a weird feeling."

He watched her as she spoke and slowly moved to rest his other hand on top of hers now. "Well, if we both remain calm, we should get through this in fair condition. I'll make a deal with you, I'll handle the fighting if you keep up with the healing."

"You got yourself a deal." she agreed with a light nod. "Now then, let's move on to more important matters… what exactly happened last night?"

"Oh, yeah, you were in the process of healing yourself and you passed out." Yumichika answered.

"That is embarrassing."

"Well, I managed to catch you in time so you didn't hit your head on anything and I kind of just carried you over to the couch. I'm not even aware of what happened much after that, I think I might've passed out just the same. Anyway, we somehow woke up together and… then you squished me into the couch."

"At least we're getting somewhere." she humored; she wanted to pushed herself up off the ground but… she also didn't want to move her hand either. "Oh, I can just imagine Matsumoto right now… I bet she's having a ball with this situation."

"Why would you say that?"

"Because it's just the two of us stuck here, no interference, no witnesses, no Kiyone." Isane remarked before the realization of those words hit her. "Oh Gods, I hope Kiyone's okay."

"Yeah, Ikkaku was into that whole thing too- actually I'm pretty certain they were in on it together." Yumichika commented. "If anything… uh well, what you said is true, but I'll try to focus more on getting us out of here alive rather than trying to woo you."

"Not much of a multi-tasker, are you?"

"I can be if you want but I figured you'd want to focus on the more important matters for now." he replied as he eventually began to push himself up. "I uh… I think I'm gonna head over to the other apartment and get some things together. If we're the only two here, we might as well keep to just one place for now. Just in case."

"Seems reasonable." she nodded; eventually pushing herself up to her feet as well. "I think I'm going to take a shower and try to go through everything that's happened lately. Maybe we can figure something out from there."

"Alright, I'll be back in a few then."

She watched as the man eventually got to his feet and started to make his way across the apartment; she probably should've said something but decided to keep it in silence instead. Waiting for the clicking of the door closing behind him before she moved to make her way towards the bathroom. Actually, she should probably get around to cleaning up a bit first; move Matsumoto's and Kiyone's things into her room for safer keeping. She changed her direction and headed back into the other rooms first; pushing open Kiyone's door first, she took note of how things seemed to be just tossed around- the girl was never all too clean or mindful to where she threw her things. A long sigh escaped her as she picked up the bag the woman had brought with her and began to throw whatever she could into it. How many shirts did Kiyone bring with her? Actually, she probably shouldn't be asking herself that just yet, at least not until she got to Matsumoto's room.

Finishing up that room, she stepped out into the short hallway and tossed the bag aside before she moved into Matsumoto's room next. Yeah, perhaps here was where she should've been asking why so many shirts? Why so much clothing? And here she thought she had over packed. What was that… two bags? Why two bags of clothing? Shaking her head, she tried not to get caught up in her questioning and moved on to collect whatever she could from the place. Stepping back out, she picked up the earlier discarded bag and moved back across the living room. Suddenly being hit with the realization of the sheer emptiness of the apartment.

Okay so… perhaps that whole thing about not being afraid and being completely okay with this… maybe that wasn't completely true. At least with other people, there was that faint sense of comfort- even if it was just with Matsumoto and Kiyone, but at least then they still had Ikkaku and Cho to back them up. Now? Now, it was just her and him. One healer. One fighter. That was all.

Yeah, Division Four had strengthened out her nerves; it had prepared her for the worst. But that was in attention to other people; she didn't actually do anything herself. So yeah, strong nerves and insightful preparation might have some survival skills but she didn't really think it would assist her in battle. Or in anything else outside of medical attention.

Letting out a long sigh, she fell back into the couch and moved to brace her hands over her face; pulling her knees up to her chest as she tried to reconfigure herself for the moment. She was going crazy. This whole thing… it was insane. How were they expected to do this? How were they supposed to be come out of this with success? No, no… she couldn't already be showing doubts, it was barely a solid day of this isolation; they still had a good chance at this. It was best to come in with a positive attitude first, right? And then the rest could follow easily afterwards. That's how it was supposed to go.

Maybe not.

The sharp click of the door opening once again brought her attention back to him as he stepped back into the apartment. Only two bags were thrown over his shoulders while a fairly puzzled look seemed to stress his face.

"You're telling me you can shower and completely dry off in less then ten minutes?" he questioned.

"What? Oh… no, I got sidetracked by something else; I thought it'd be best if I got their things together and moved them into my room. As you can tell, I haven't exactly completed it all just yet." she answered as she moved to hook her arms over the back of the couch. "I mean… after that, I started to go through all my thoughts and started to get far too into this whole… mess."

"Yeah, I did that too; I had to take a moment and think it through." he nodded. "It's kind of a difficult concept to get at first but now it seems to be in perspective."

"So… are we screwed?"

"Maybe just a little bit."


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: This might be the last chapter for awhile now. I found myself kind of falling out of it for awhile- mainly because of the stress of my class- but I've also been combating how to end the thing. I've got two main ideas that I could pick from, I just have to bunker down and pull out the pros and cons for each. Until then, I'll go ahead and apologize for any sense of delay in updating, I'm actually kind of surprised I've managed to push out this many already. Thank you guys so much for the reviews and wonderful words, they definitely help make my day better; I'm getting my frustration out by doing some short oneshots here or there, so I'll probably do one or two for this couple anyways. **

The quiet rush of the water running seemed to echo faintly between the ceramic tiles and the white shower curtain that had been drawn tightly closed. She took in the moment of quiet stillness as her hands seemed to encourage the water to push through her hair; taking a minute or two to knit her hands together at the back of her neck and lean back just enough for the rush of water to trail down the front of her body. For the most part, they had gotten through the first moments of panic over the situation, the slight dip into secondary depression before they pulled themselves back up. For now, they were okay; for now… they could survive.

It was a new day. A new start for them to forget about the events of last night and continue on with what remained of their mission- although a few objectives had been changed at this point. Regardless, they could both keep an open mind over the matter, so hopefully that would assist them sometime soon. Until then though, they figured they couldn't just sit inside all day; that wasn't going to help and they were bound to just drive one another insane. So for now… despite the adventures of last night, they were going to head back out and try to enjoy the day- just hoping for nothing to get to them just yet. They weren't exactly prepared for another attack right now.

So, here was to hoping for a smooth day.

Reaching forward, she switched off the shower knobs and waited for the excessive water to roll off before she stepped out; grabbing the closest towel that was available and tying it around her midsection. She probably should get around to doing some laundry while they were still here; there were plenty of bloodied towels that needed to be washed- or just thrown away, actually that might just be suspicious if they did that. Stifling a soft yawn, she walked out into the corridor and started towards her room; hopefully she still had something clean to wear until she got some laundry done.

"Hey, you know I saw this advertisement for a restaurant just downtown from here; it's one of those black tie affair kind of things but it looks interesting. We should try it out since we've got this extended stay going on."

"When you say black tie affair, that means I have to wear something fancy and/or expensive." she called back to him.

"And?"

Rolling her eyes lightly, she walked back towards the living room and peeked out around the corner; watching as he was slowly stirring the tea cup in hand as he stood in the kitchen. "Does it really look like I would even have something like that, let alone bring it here with me?"

He glanced up at her remark and tried not to drop the cup in hand as his fingers seemed to fumble slightly with the object. "Uh well… I don't know, I guess if you had a black towel that might seem more appropriate right? Black is always slimming."

Shaking her head, she walked back to her room; partly thankful that the towels the apartment had been furnished with were particularly long and weren't all too embarrassing to show up in- not to say that she wasn't still embarrassed anyways. It was probably best if she just tossed the whole thing aside for now and just focused on getting dressed. Drying herself off, she shuffled through her closet for something before pulling a few things out to wear. She still had a few things here or there, so that would last her for a week or so- which hopefully they wouldn't be here for that entire time. Fitting herself into a white blouse she pulled a black vest on over it and somehow managed to wiggle on another tight-fitting pair of jeans; she really needed to go through her jean supply and see which ones were appropriate or not. Until then, she just had to made do with what she had.

"Still, I don't think that's the kind of scene for me." she started back as she stepped into the corridor afterwards; one hand ruffling through her chopped locks just before she got back into the living room. "I prefer to keep things simple when I go out and not have to eat something in a dress that cost more than everything in my room does."

"It was just a suggestion." he replied. "You don't think it would be fun?"

"No… well maybe. I mean, I won't outright deny it but I just don't think it would be fun for me." she shrugged lightly. "Who knows, you're talking to the woman who likes to sit inside on her days off and sometimes just walk around out in the fields; the only reason I go out to the city is because Kiyone wants to drag me out."

"Which is why I think it would be fun; I'd like to see your reaction to it." he chuckled.

"You're a cruel man."

He shook his head lightly with another accompanying chuckle before he set aside his cup. "We could go shopping today, set up reservations tomorrow… it's not like we have anything else planned."

She let a long sigh escape her as she moved over to the kitchen and leaned in against the bar counter on the other end. "You're just enjoying the whole thought of this, aren't you?"

"Hmmm… maybe."

"Well then… I might just be interested in seeing you in some kind of three-piece suit."

"Do I get the chance to see you in some kind of slinky dress?"

"No."

"It was worth a shot."

She shook her head pushed herself away from the counter now before she walked back over to the couch; trying to tidy up the place a little more as… well she really didn't have all too much to do at the moment, which wasn't a good thing for her. "It's almost eerie with how well we're just adapting to this whole thing."

"Well, we're both calm, collective people, it's not like we're expecting one another to run about in panic." he remarked as he took a small drink of his tea. "I mean, do you want to go running around in a mad panic? I've seen a few people do it and it does look like fun sometimes."

"No, I'd much prefer to not run about and possibly get myself even more injured than I already have." Isane replied. "I've gotten more injuries in these last few weeks than I have in years; I think I might just put in a request to refuse all future missions. I'll see if I can't convince Captain Unohana to send Hanataro or Yasochika out instead."

He chuckled lightly and stepped out of the kitchen for a moment. "Well, in all honesty, Ikkaku and I are really the only Division members who actually do anything. So we tend to get stuck doing everything for Captain Kenpachi. It's a hassle but we're happy to do it. Sometimes anyways. This mission just might be the turning point for all of that."

"Yeah, but let's both face it… if the same request was asked of us, we'd both agree to go in the end." she remarked.

"Well yeah, but it's still nice to think about not accepting." Yumichika shrugged.

"True." she chuckled as she tossed a few of the pillows into the corners of the couch before she shook the cleaning matter aside. "Come on, we got a day ahead of us, now don't we?"

"I don't know, I wouldn't really consider walking around town as having a 'day' ahead of us but it is something I suppose."

"I just thought that we could go shopping… I mean, you are taking me out later, right? I'll need something nice to wear."

* * *

><p>"Did you find anything?"<p>

Nanao glanced away from the multitude of opened books in front of her and looked up at the question; shaking her head towards the blonde-haired woman who stood in the doorway just a few feet away. "Nothing so far. I've even asked Captain Shunsui about it and he didn't know anything, then again he was probably too tipsy to notice something like this happening. I've looked in books and there's nothing that's been written… well, there's been a few responses to where Hollows have been able to create a small barrier but nothing to cover a city; and most of them had been easy to destroy, yet with almost four or five Lieutenants there, we couldn't even fracture it by ourselves."

"So… what do you think it is?" Matsumoto questioned as she leaned in against the doorframe; watching as the woman pushed her glasses aside and pinched at the empty space between her eyes. The table in front of her was completely covered in books, while other stacks were pushed around the room; a scatter of papers remained beneath a few books as her notes seemed to be spread everywhere.

"To be honest, my hypothesis on it is… that there's a stronger Hollow essentially creating this barrier; yes, the Hollows we killed the day before did disrupt the barrier but… it's either because their presence had been partly powering it or because a larger Hollow was controlling them. So its power could've been enough to recreate smaller clones like the ones before or… I just… I don't know. There's a lot to process and I can't process it all at once." Nanao groaned as her hands moved to cup her face.

Certainly looked like it.

A low sigh escaped her as Matsumoto slightly kicked at a book that was close by her. "On a lighter note, Lieutenant Chojiro's conscious again. Captain Unohana said she was slightly surprised that he was already awake so soon but… she said that the early detection of it was probably what saved him a week or so of being in a coma. Sentaro's doing fine just as well, the Division just wants to keep him in for one more day before they release him; Kiyone and Hinamori are fine though and they said they'd drop by later if there was anything you needed help on."

"Well, that's good news." Nanao nodded. "We were all worried about Chojiro there for a moment; Sentaro as well."

"At least when we get those other two back home, they won't have to worry about everyone else anymore."

"Let's hope it stays as a 'when' and doesn't turn into an 'if' we get them back home."


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: Well I managed to piece something together but unfortunately it's probably going to be the only chapter for this week... maybe, I don't know yet. My class is coming to its final week and I'm pretty sure my project just pretty much exploded on itself but there's still hope lol. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I'm still trying to pick out an appropriate ending for the story so ideas are coming by pretty slow. The fact that the story is already 30 chapters is frightening... it took Lessons in Love a year to get this far and it's no where close to being done but this has hit the same mark in the timespan of a few months. How does that work, lol? **

"Alright… So what do we need?" Isane questioned as she peered through each of the store windows they passed by; merely following him as his arm linked with her own tugged her along the sidewalk.

He shrugged lightly and barely bothered his attention with the passing stores; there was already a place in mind he had seen once or twice before… he knew where to go. "It depends on what you're going to wear. In my personal opinion, the place seemed like a well-established, upscale restaurant, so everything is going to be based off of looks; you'll have to play the part and dive in deep for something appropriate to wear. I would recommend a dress seeing as sometimes skirts aren't as visually appealing in such a high kind of setting; not to mention, you can get so much more out of a dress instead. There's less you have to pick out and accessorize with, plus simplicity is much more appealing in certain occasions."

"My day just got a whole lot more complicated, didn't it?"

"Hmmm… quite possibly, yes."

A light chuckle escaped her at his honest answer and she shook her head in response. "Is it too late to back out of this thing?"

"I mean, you can… but I just want to remind you that it was your idea to come out shopping right now; and that aside from this, we have nothing else to do really." he started as he pulled her around the next corner and started down another street.

"I hate you."

"You can't hate me just yet, you have to wait and see where I'm taking you first before you can pass that kind of judgment."

"Good, now I have something to look forward to." she responded as she continued to look into the stores that they passed on by. There were shoe stores, a few small outlets, a furniture place and… what looked to be an adult-oriented store… how embarrassing. It was only when he tugged on her arm towards him that she finally caught on to where he was exactly taking her. The store name itself didn't seem to be legible and was probably in some kind of foreign language to be honest… hell, she couldn't even translate it. Which meant it was probably one of those stores that she tried to avoid at all costs for the sheer fact that it had the few types of clothing that never suited her anyways. And yet, he was taking her right into the heart of it. "Okay you were right… I despise you now."

"Excellent, this can be the start of our first fight; I thought our relationship could use a little conflict." he replied with his own chuckle as he reached out and pushed the front door aside; holding it open for her even as she reluctantly stepped inside. "I thought we were agreeing too much with one another."

She gave another shake of her head and peered around at the elegantly decorated store. There were racks and racks of dresses of all sorts and in all colors, which were separated into sections and seemed to be labeled for certain events as well. Where was a 'I somehow managed to get myself dragged into this date and have to buy something from here' section? Well, not so much as 'dragged' but… forget it, she didn't mean to have it sound like that anyways. "Nice place, can we go home now?"

"Sure." he nodded. "When you pick out a dress."

Well… damn.

Slowly, she started towards the first rack of dresses and just merely skimmed over the selection. She didn't really have a color she liked or one that looked particularly good on her… so the best choice right now would be to go with black- which there was plenty of. Still, even with the large selection spread out before her, it felt like she wasn't going to find a single style she liked- then again, that's usually how most of her dress shopping went. Or even shopping over all. She couldn't even pick out a swimsuit for herself, she had to get Captain Unohana to help her out. So, this in itself was going to be hell. Purely.

He watched her as she seemed to cautiously move between the different racks; her face cringing every now and then as her eyes settled on a rather unflattering style. She wasn't even bothering to pull a dress or two out for closer inspection; it seemed like she was just drifting through it all in a mindless kind of stage. "We have all day so feel free to take your time."

"I'll just pick the first dress I find." she called back to him as she continued on further through the maze of clothing. There were ones of silk and polyester and… whatever other material existed in this world. It was an absolute madhouse of imported designs and fabrics- Matsumoto and Kiyone would have a ball in here. She paused for a brief moment as one of the dresses seemed to catch her eye; her fingertips just barely brushing over it as she lightly pulled it from its tight position. The bottom portion of it was folded up and over part of the hanger to keep it from brushing the ground, which probably meant it was still going to be too short for her. Still though… without seeing the full thing, it seemed pretty enough. "You know, it's a time like this that I kind of wish the others were here; I could probably actually benefit from Matsumoto's opinion or even Kiyone's advice at this point."

"What? You don't trust me?" he questioned as he walked by on the other side of the rack.

"It's not that I don't trust you…" she replied as she continued to lightly thumb through the dresses in front of her- as though as a means of distraction instead. "It's just… they could accompany me in the dressing room if I needed them to."

"I could but it would be frowned upon."

"... And I would find their opinions to be a little bit more truthful and less bias."

"Well, that's a little insulting."

A light chuckle escaped her at his response as she glanced over to him. "So, you're telling me that if I decided to wear some kind of slinky, black piece of material that had a hemline caught around my waist-" she started; fingertips pulling free a dress from the closest rack that seemed to fit her description fairly well as she held up in front of her. "And paired it with a set of heels that were high enough to break an ankle with the wrong step, that you would still tell me it looked bad?"

The silence that followed afterwards was enough of an answer for her.

"I'll probably just have to get one of the store clerks to help."

He watched her as she carried herself off with a brief chuckle at the acknowledgment of having won this round. Shaking his head, he stepped out around the rack between them before he glanced over the dress she had been eyeing before. "Are you going to be asking one of the clerks about this one as well?"

She glanced back at the remark and watched as he pulled out the gown she had been musing over. "What? N-no… I don't even like it all that much."

"Really?" he mused as he carefully pulled the fabric loose from where it had been tucked over the top of the hanger; watching as the silk-like material flowed downward into a beautiful silhouette of its formless shape. "It seems like an interesting cut, I think you should at least try it on."

"I really don't want to."

"Do it. Please?"

"… Okay."

The trip to the dressing room wasn't entirely the happiest journey to take but she managed to find a few more interesting gowns along the way; if she was going to be trying things on, she might as well take a bundle with her right? She just wanted one round in the dressing rooms, and that was it- whether she found something or not. If anything, she would settle with the close-to-best dress she could and just go for it; it wasn't like she would wear it again after all.

There were a few other women standing around in the large fitting area and she did her best to duck out of the way as quickly as she could and take one of the non-occupied rooms. Now would've been a great time for the others… But, she would just have to shoulder through it and go off her own intuition with fashion like this. She was supposed to have some kind of inner intuition like that, right? That was like a default setting everyone had, right? Shaking her head, she locked the door closed behind her and hung the dresses up on the nearest hooks that jutted out from the wall; she took her time to look over the small room, which was equipped with the usual full-body mirror and a chair… she never really knew why there was a chair there though. Kiyone always commented that she sometimes just liked to sit in it just so that it could serve its purpose; she always assumed it was because she was lazy.

Well, no sense in waiting around and wasting time.

Slipping off her vest, she removed her blouse and tossed it over the back of the chair- maybe that was the purpose it was there- before she worked herself out of her jeans. Alright, well now that she was awkwardly standing in the middle of the dressing room in her intimates, she might as well pick out which dress to wear first. She chose the one closest to her and peeled it off its hanger. It was one she had grabbed at random, so more than likely it wasn't going to fit. True enough, the material felt like it was squeezing the life out of her and as much of a struggle it had been to get on, she was a little frightened that it wasn't going to come off either. So, that was one dress down and a few more to go.

The second one was more fitting but bundled uncomfortably around her waist and the stooping neckline was too low for her; the stitched up sides that were supposed to be… original or stylized weren't all too fun to deal with either. That was a second dress down and she was already tired of it; maybe if she just settled for a dress and went with it… no, that would be cheating. Cheating what though? It wasn't like this was some kind of game or challenge, but maybe she felt like she would be cheating him out on seeing her in something eye-worthy. Really Kotetsu? That's the first thing you thought of?

Shaking her head briefly, she looked back to the dress she had briefly looked at before and the same one he had pulled out for her… maybe it was worth trying on next.

Fingers removed the soft material from its hanger before she draped it in front of her; surprisingly enough, it seemed long enough to fit her form. It did now at least, it probably wouldn't when she put it on though. Well, it was still worth trying on for the sake of being here in the first place. Carefully loosening up the back of it, she slipped herself into it without pressing the material too roughly and felt the way the silk- maybe satin fabric moved against her skin. She reached back to zip the back of it up once more before moving on to tie the neckpiece around. The dress itself tied around the neck and formed a solid cover over her chest; allowing only the skin of her shoulders to be bare and giving into a low dip of her back. It tightened slightly around her waist to give off the subtle curves of her abdomen and hips before it flourished down to the ground in a solid wave of fabric. A modest cut up to the mid-thigh was only really visible every time she placed her left leg out intentionally, or maybe if she were walking as well. The hem was decently trimmed down the split as a small bundle covered over the start of the cut; it was probably a decorative rose of some sort that fashion designers enjoyed sewing in to hide the incision of the material. Surprisingly enough, the dress did fall to cover her height perfectly and left enough fabric remaining to create a small train behind her… which she was on and off about whether she liked it or not.

But she supposed the real question to be asking here was did she like the overall piece?

In which case, the answer to that was yes.


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N: So for the past two days, I've been up for about thirty-one hours with an one-hour nap to cover the whole ordeal. I've been trying to finish up on that last project, my final presentation to give to the class and... it seems like just as I walk through the doors to turn it in... the whole file corrupts itself and I'm out fifteen-percent of my grade. Thank you CRI class, same time next month? **

He supposed the sight of her walking out of the dressing room with one dress tossed triumphantly over her arm while the others were placed back on the nearest rack was something to celebrate. Even she herself seemed pleased with the choice as she slowly made her way back towards him; hands gently folding the draped material of the gown over the hanger once more. "What? I don't get to see you in it?"

"Oh you will." she assured him. "On the night of this little date of ours."

"… You drive a hard bargain, Miss. Kotetsu."

A light smirk caught the corner of her lips as she held herself up with a small sense of victory. "Well, I am not easily persuaded into taking up on the offer of such an extravagant date as you have requested, but for some reason I did this time. I figured, why not have a little fun with it since it's just the two of us here."

"I see… I must admit, I'm surprised and curious about this 'extravagant' date now." he started. "We'll definitely have to see how it gets there and where it goes."

"I'm glad to see we agree on something here." she nodded. "Now then, were you going to pick out a suit from here or is there another store that you'd prefer?"

"Actually, I already had a suit packed with me but… I suppose it wouldn't hurt to pick up another one; the one I brought is getting a tad bit old I guess."

"You… packed a suit with you?"

"You never know when you're going to need one, in which this instance is a perfect reason why." Yumichika answered as he brushed aside a dark strand of hair; briefly tucking it behind one ear. "Why are you giving me that look like I'm a madman?"

She wasn't really aware she was giving off that expression but it wasn't surprising. She didn't know all too many people who packed suits with them… although she supposed it was like Matsumoto packing all sorts of heels and blouses and whatnot. It just seemed strange to her but he did have a reason and was able to prove his point. "Nothing, it's just that, it's rare to find a guy who cares about how he looks all the time- even if it's on a mission."

"It's really quite sad, isn't it?"

"You could say that." she chuckled lightly. "Now why don't you go wait for me outside while I pay for this dress? I can't have you knowing just how much I'll cost on date night."

* * *

><p>"Lieutenant Nanao… are you in?"<p>

The dark-haired Lieutenant snapped herself out of the dreary nap she had slightly fallen into and quickly pushed up on her glasses as the Fourth Captain made herself visible in the doorway to her office. She glanced around at Kiyone's slumbered form on one side and Hinamori's passed out figure on the other; the two had offered to help her look for any strip of information that was available but… after having just been shortly released from Division Four, neither of them could keep themselves awake for very long. "Captain Unohana, is there something I can help you with?"

"You are still studying that barrier mystery, correct?"

She nodded and carefully pushed herself to her feet; hands gently brushing the wrinkles out of her uniform as she tried not to brace too much pressure on her still sleeping leg. How long had she been in here studying? Well if she lost track of time then it was probably for too long. "Yes, I've looked through countless amounts of books and a few journals but there's not much to be said about it. The few pieces of recorded material offer no solutions, no theories… it's like they wrote about it just to write it into existence."

The Fourth Captain nodded before she stepped into the small office. "I do believe this may help you then. I haven't looked completely through it since you said you wanted to take care of the matter yourself but… it does offer some helpful insight to the mystery."

She took note of the small, leather-bound book the Captain kept in one hand before it was offered to her; fingertips were careful to retrieve it as the leather itself was deeply worn down by time and… Gods, it had to been decades or more old. "Where did you find this?"

"Well… Captain Soifon actually found it somewhere in her Division House. There's a name written inside that she doesn't recognize but the handwriting seemed a little familiar. I think it might've belonged to someone in her family but she said that was highly unlikely since no one in her family kept journals like this. Either way, I suppose the origin of it isn't all too important right now; it may give you some answers that you'll need though." Unohana answered before she switched her attention to the other two in the room. "Well, at least they're keeping themselves well-rested, that is all I asked from them."

"Yes well, believe me, they've been resting for quite awhile now." Nanao chuckled lightly. "Thank you for the journal, I'll start taking notes on it immediately."

"Well, just remember to keep yourself rested just the same. I wouldn't want to see you in my Division either."

She waited for the Fourth Captain to leave before she sat back down at her desk; pushing aside the other toppled stacks of books and floating papers to try and make room for her newest project. Carefully undoing the bind, she pulled the cover open and listened to the soft cringle of the paper as it seemed to peel up along with the cover. The passing years had stained the paper an almost tea-yellow color although the ink remained somewhat vibrant… she was half-expecting to decipher the writing but for now it seemed like her job was going to be a bit easier.

It was easy to skim through most of the journal entries, she had to admit whoever had held the pen at the time had amazing calligraphy skills; the curves and loops of every letter flowed perfectly as they went from word to word. The author tended to switch between writing crude comments to writing elegant details and descriptions of this and that. She supposed it depended on the day or the events that had been ongoing that decided on which style the author wrote to. Either one was littered with information that, while it didn't tend to their current situation, was still interesting to read regardless.

Captain Unohana mentioned that Captain Soifon had found it somewhere lost in the barracks of her Division… she also mentioned that it was highly unlikely someone from her family wrote it. While she didn't really see the Second Captain writing in explicit details such as this, the crude remarks every now and again did sound a lot like her. Still, that wasn't a matter that was to be thought on right now. If anything, they should be glad something like this was found… that is if she found anything interesting in it.

A long groan escaped one of the unconscious forms next to her as Kiyone slowly pushed herself back into a straightened position; her eyes barely open and barely focused at that as she glanced around for a moment. "Did I fall asleep?"

"You've been snoozing away for an hour now." Nanao answered as she flipped to another page.

"Interesting… you know, I had this really weird dream where Sentaro and I got married but then everyone was dead in the audience… That's not like one of those weird premonitions, right?"

"… If it was, I think it'd be kind of like one of those 'when Hell freezes over' situations." she replied.

The blonde-haired woman nodded and took a moment to stretch out her arms before she noticed the new book in hand. "Where'd you find that? In a dumpster?"

"Captain Unohana dropped it by, she said it may offer some kind of clue to this whole 'barrier' thing. So far, it's interesting, but I haven't really found anything on it just yet." Nanao replied as she moved to yet another page and skimmed down the entry. "I mean-" she paused for a moment as a brief sentence caught her eye before she continued on through the awaiting paragraph. "Now… hang on a minute, I think this might be it…"

"What's it say?"

"'We went out on another expedition this morning but when we returned to base, one team didn't make it back; we assumed they might've gotten lost and would return well after sundown. I assured the other teams that must've been a minor setback and that if they weren't back by morning light then I would assemble a small group to go look for them. I didn't really think much on it but… sure enough, by dawn the next day, I was getting together a team.'" Nanao repeated as she followed down the passage before continuing on to the next page. "'What we found when we located the team's energy was… well beyond anything I had seen before. I had read a few passages on it here and there but I still considered it to be a myth almost… my mind was changed now. It must've been some kind of barrier of the sort made out of energy… not ours or our lost team's though. We only noticed it when one of our members went through but when he turned back at my command… he couldn't return; we shouted at one another for a few moments before I realized what the predicament was. Sure enough, it was like an invisible force field, a barrier keeping him back; it seemed like we could enter it but we couldn't make an exit from it. It only took a few short moments of researching before we realized that it was entrapping people due to their energy; it was a Hollow trap to separate our teams… so far, it was working. I had to admire and curse the technique all at once.'"

"… What else does it say?" Kiyone ushered.

"Give me a minute, I had to catch my breath." Nanao replied as she brushed aside a few bangs that had fallen into her face before she turned her attention back to the journal. "'Despite our best efforts to destroy the barrier from the outside, and even from the inside with our trapped members… it was futile; the energy didn't even waver or shut down. Officer Hiyoko said they had finished off all the Hollows that had attacked them, so the energy that was generating the barrier was non-active now. I didn't understand… if it wasn't constantly getting fueled… then how was it still here?'"

"That's what we're asking now…" the Thirteenth Half-Lieutenant remarked. "Skip to the later entries and see how they fixed it."

"I can't just skip ahead-"

"We need answers now, you can learn the full story later." Kiyone pressed.

She gave it a few moments before a rough sigh escaped her. As much as she hated to, she flipped through the next few pages and tried to locate where the solution of the matter would be. While she would've liked to know the whole story… the woman did have a point. "Okay, okay… uh… here, this looks like it might be something. 'Our Captain continues to say that the mission was mishandled and that I was at fault. All I can say is fuck him and his ideals of a 'perfect mission' because there are none in existence; at least we came out of this with all our members rescued and with some knowledge on this new barrier technique those heartless scumbags created. It appears that really any level can create such a thing and it can be knitted together with other energies from rivaling Hollows… which means a large number in one area can essentially cover an entire city if it damn well pleases to. They don't normally work together as such but I suppose when there's a large prey source they're willing to make sacrifices. The barriers cannot be broken by our means or energy… the only solution to them seems to be merely waiting them out; even if the responsible Hollows are killed off it can still remain on their lingering energy or something. I'm no scientist on the matter but I was there firsthand and experienced it… that's only what I saw personally. I'm only guessing that each barrier would have its own set time limit, depending on the number and level of Hollows involved. We ended up encountering two barriers during our trip. One took a few days to eventually weaken enough for our members to escape… the other took ten months, almost a year. I have lingering suspicions that these barriers could go well over a year into existence. I need to found out more on these.'"

"A year? You're telling me that barrier could last up to a year before we can get Isane back?" Kiyone questioned.

"He listed a few days as well." Nanao reminded, although knowing well that the blonde-haired woman would be more focused on the worse-case scenario point of this. "I mean, the probability of either of those occurring is… well we don't really have enough information on it for now, I'll have to go read the rest of the entries and see what he says-"

"But… that's a full year!"

"It's only a possibility, we don't know which one it's going to be until-"

"And what do we do? What do we do if it is a year or even more? That guy said he didn't know for sure."

"Kiyone, you need to calm down and try to think this through more clearly." Nanao advised as she pushed herself to her feet once more. "Look, I'm going to go talk to someone about this, you try to calm yourself and… don't do anything drastic. Go talk to Sentaro or something or wake up Hinamori- actually I'm surprised you haven't already with your panic."

A brief frown caught the blonde-haired woman as she stood up just the same. "Nanao, that's not your sister stuck on the other side of that; you're not the one who's going to have to wait who knows how many days just to see her again. So don't tell me to calm down when you don't even know what I'm going through right now."

With that, she watched as the woman excused herself in a rush and left the room; leaving her unsure if she should try to understand the woman's reaction or if she should've been just a bit ticked off by it. It was a matter to mess with later, she had to talk to Captain Unohana about this. Exiting the room just the same, she was nearly knocked down by someone else coming in through the doorway at the same time she was trying to leave through it.

"Ah, I apologize Nanao, I didn't think you'd be leaving this room for awhile now." Shunsui started as he managed to catch her by the arm to help her keep balance. "I saw Officer Kiyone leave a moment ago, she looked to be in a rush."

"Yeah, we just got into a little dispute." Nanao answered as she pushed up on her glasses. "I uh… I was reading this journal Captain Unohana dropped off for me and… it said some interesting things about that barrier."

"Like?"

"Like the fact that you can't really break it and you essentially have to wait it out. Not to mention, it could take between a few days or a recorded ten months to disappear; whoever wrote this also said it was a possibility it could… take a year as well." she replied. "There's a lot to take from it and I haven't finished reading the whole thing, but if that's true then… they could be stuck there for quite some time and there won't be anything we can do about it."

**A/N: Hmm, days or months? Days or months? **


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys, I'm still trying to work out the story ending myself lol haven't decided between days or months but I have solid ideas for both. I'll figure something out eventually. Tried to jump into some more romance a bit here or there but I may or may not have pushed out of the character bounds, not sure but hopefully it's still solid. **

"So, it's the end of the first day we've been here by ourselves… what do we do?"

She shrugged lightly and continued to run her fingers through his dark hair. Seated against one corner of the couch, she had her legs somewhat crossed underneath her while he was partly resting against her legs; his hands knitted over his abdomen as he seemed to be enjoying himself. "I don't know, I mean… what is there to do? I don't think there's anything on TV at this time, most of the places outside are closed for the night and… there's not a lot that this apartment offers either. We could talk but we're not really good conversation people."

"On days like this, Ikkaku would probably suggest that we'd prank people." Yumichika noted.

"You know what, that sounds like something Kiyone would probably agree with too." Isane chuckled. "She always enjoyed getting herself in trouble- or at least that's what it seemed like at times."

"Ikkaku just liked acting like a douche bag sometimes."

"Well, look at his Division."

It took a moment before he leaned his head back to look at her. "And just what's that supposed to mean?"

"… Nothing." she slowly replied in answer. "Uh… so it was some really lovely weather outside, don't you think?"

"You're terrible."

Another light chuckle escaped her before she moved to cup her hands against his jawline. "You better watch what you say or else I'm going to tell your whole Division that you're dating me. And they'll probably make fun of you for it."

"Well, I'll tell your Division and… actually, I don't think they'll really do anything…"

"You know, knowing them they'd probably just be like 'who's that?' and then forget about it five minutes later by some bleeding man." she nodded. "Actually, they probably don't even know I'm missing right now… well Yasochika might because he's weird and thinks I'm some kind of rival to him. He's probably using this moment to say my record of attendance is now ruined with my missing days… just to be a douche to me."

"Ikkaku's probably wrecking my room and filling it full of paper or something just to annoy me when I get back. Actually, I bet Captain Kenpachi would do the same… I'm gonna move into another room when we get back." he sighed as he brought his hands up to cover his face. "Well, at least I'll still have my looks."

"At least I'll still be Lieutenant when I get back… hopefully anyways." she remarked. "And hopefully when I get back, Kiyone will still just be herself and not like… pregnant or something."

A brief chuckle left him for a moment. "You know, she's probably saying the same thing about you."

"Ha ha, ew." Isane laughed as she leaned forward and placed her hands against his chest. "I mean, no offense, I just don't think children would really be the best thing for us… at least for right now anyways."

"Oh ho, at least for right now anyways?" he copied. "And just what are you saying, Kotetsu?"

She shook her head and moved her hands to cover his eyes now. "Nothing pertaining to you, Ayasegawa."

"I see how it's going to be." he started; moving his hands to cover over her own for the moment. "Well, I'm sure your future children will be beautiful… just not as beautiful as mine would be."

"Is that so?" she questioned.

"Very much."

With the gentle lift of one leg, she graciously helped him over the edge of the couch and to the ground below; producing a rather successful thud of a collision. "Well thank you, I'll keep that in mind when the time comes for it." she remarked; moving now to stretch her legs out across the couch as she shifted to rest more on her side.

"Okay, it was all fun and games until you decided to play rough." he commented; pushing himself up onto his arms from where he landed back-first into the floor. "And now my neck hurts, I hope you're happy."

"I am."

It was his turn to shake his head as he forced himself back to his feet. "You know, if someone had warned me ahead of time that you were going to be a cruel woman, I probably would've second guessed myself."

"Yeah, but you called me beautiful and you can't forget that." she reminded as she reached out and caught a hold of his shirt; tugging on it briefly. "Now come on, we were enjoying some quality… couch time together; you can't ruin that."

"Well actually I was planning on taking a shower… so unless you just want to share some quality shower time, you'll have to wait until I get back." he answered.

"Too bad I took a shower this morning." she replied as she released her hold on his shirt. "But you go take your shower, I'll still be here when you get back."

* * *

><p>It was easy to tell that the others weren't entirely sure how to react to the news but were trying desperately to show some kind of reaction to it. Then again, she supposed if someone just came up to her and announced that there was a possibility that they wouldn't be able to get their friends back for a year- a <em>very<em> small possibility though- she too wouldn't know what to say.

"This whole thing just got messier, didn't it?" Matsumoto questioned slowly.

"Well, it's a possibility, I mean it could just last for a few days too." Nanao reminded as she lightly tapped her fingers against the journal in hand. "I mean, it seems like everyone keeps forgetting about that possibility too."

"When you put it up next to the other one, it's kind of hard not to get distracted." Momo replied; ruffling her messy dark locks for a moment as she tried to pull them back into their usual style. "Believe me when I saw I hope it's just for a few days but… I don't want to get my hopes up for it either if that's not the case."

A quiet sigh passed her as she nodded. "I know… it's just… it's hard to try and grasp on right now; it's hard to believe we can't do anything about something like this." Nanao remarked. "And the fact that we're not allowed to go back through to the other side, so they're basically sitting over there completely clueless over this whole matter…"

"Yeah but… you know, knowing Isane she's probably so calm about this whole thing; she doesn't let things get to her head easily and she rarely panics over anything." Matsumoto assured. "If anything, she's probably the best kind of person to be stuck in something like this. And Yumichika's kind of the same way… well, and if not, then Isane's there to keep him calm; she is the Fourth Division Lieutenant, she's probably been under worse conditions."

"She does have a point." Momo nodded. "Have you told anyone else about this yet?"

"I told Kiyone but she got mad and went off, so she's bound to have told Sentaro about it." Nanao answered. "You somehow managed to sleep through that ordeal, I don't know how though. I haven't been able to find Ikkaku just yet and Chojiro's still resting in Intensive Care. I was going to speak with Captain Unohana about it but she's in a meeting right now so… I came out to find you guys instead."

Matsumoto nodded and moved to cross her arms over her chest. "Well… I guess it's just a waiting game now, huh? They're probably enjoying all the alone time though."

"Oh come on, this again?" Nanao sighed.

"Yes, this again. I mean, come on, this is like… gold."

"You turn a potentially dangerous situation into… a match making experience."

"I'm staying out of this one." Momo chuckled as she stepped back slightly. "Look, I've got a few errands I have to run for my Division right now, but I'll meet up with you guys later. If you find out anything new in that journal, make notes for me."

"I will." Nanao nodded; watching as the Fifth Lieutenant eventually took off to resume whatever errand she had been in the middle of. "Alright, well… I guess I'll get back to reading this journal and see if I can't get anything else out of it."

"I'll get some streamers for their welcoming back party." Matsumoto remarked semi-sarcastically. "You know, maybe if we're lucky, we can use them again for a bachelorette party-"

"Rangiku. Shut up."

* * *

><p>Stepping out of the bathroom, he draped one of the beige towels over the back of his neck and let the ends drape over his shoulders. A light stretch was well deserved as he listened to the sharp crack of his back and felt the tug of the muscles in his arms. Well, so far things were going well… that was a good sign for them, right? Yeah… yeah it was.<p>

Walking out into the living area once more, he watched as she seemed to be slightly preoccupied with flipping through the channels on the TV; she was sitting in a more straightened position against the back of the couch instead… which left her vulnerable. He was careful to mind his steps as he worked his way towards her and crept closer towards the couch.

She continued to flip somewhat absent-mindedly through the channels as not a single program could catch her attention for more than half a minute. It was hard to believe that some people just enjoyed sitting here, doing nothing else but watch shows like these. Okay, well then again she was usually constantly working fourteen hours out of the day and the other hours were spent picking up other members' shifts; some days she worked fourteen hours and other days she worked probably the full twenty-four hours. Well, that's what usually happened on the days where she suffered a severe case of insomnia… which, regardless, were most of the days out of the week actually…

The sudden touch of something wet and warm against the bare curve of her neck and shoulder quickly pulled her out of her thoughts. She cringed at the mixed sensation and nearly managed to tip herself over to one side at the surprise of it. "Ayasegawa!" she playfully scolded as she used one hand to push his head aside. "Don't kiss my neck when I'm not paying attention."

"Why not? I only get this chance when you're sitting down." he defended with his own short laugh at the feel of her hand pressing against his jawline. "Besides, it was too good to resist."

"You should really try to learn some self restrain then." she remarked as she pushed herself back into her original sitting position and ruffled his wet strands with her fingers. She leaned in partly and brushed her lips against his still radiating skin. "And you better be half dressed at least."

"And what if I'm not?" he teased.

"Then you're giving a show to the people across the street from us."


	33. Chapter 33

**A/N: Sorry for the bit of a break there, it's barely past week one and this class is not suiting me very well- again. But, I had to get this story going somewhere, so hopefully this will be the last of the redunant parts and then it can move to something more exciting. Not entirely sure how I feel about the ending of it, it feels chopped to me since I've been dragging my feet around recently and haven't given myself enough time to... type out and practice these kind of scenes.**

It just started with a simple kiss, that was it.

Just a soft brush of the lips against the curve of his jawline in a light, teasing motion as they laughed at one another's antics. After that, it turned into more of a quiet-hearted kiss as he turned to meet her lips with a matching tenderness; the soft shade of Wisteria in his eyes was almost enough to make her insides melt as she moved on to return the gesture. It was more of a playful tussle as the embrace moved back and forth between them; her attention was really more focused on the way her fingers tangled briefly in his hanging strands. The couch served as a barrier that made the embrace a little more challenging as she had to half-twist her body around while he had to lean more forward over the back of it.

And then, somehow, the barrier was taken away.

The remote was tossed aside and the TV long since forgotten.

She could feel the remaining heat of the shower on his skin as it seemed to soak into her white blouse. Her fingers were still tangled in his short locks as she pulled him in closer against her; feeling the continuous press of heat as his hands moved in to grasp at her own jawline. The soft tilt back of her head encouraged the embrace to deepen far before their minds could calculate what was going on. But the following taste and texture of his tongue against her own was enough to brush aside any second-guessing.

* * *

><p>"Hang on, hang on, speak a little slower for me." Chojiro started; keeping one hand against the bandaged part of his sternum as he partly moved himself to shift into a more comfortable sitting position. "I heard the part about the journal and the barrier thing… after that, everything went fuzzy."<p>

Hinamori sighed briefly and nodded in understanding; she supposed running into his hospital room blurting out everything Nanao had told her about wasn't exactly one of her best ideas. "It's just, the barrier has a life span that ranges between a few days and a recorded ten months, although speculation has suggested more. It's the only new piece of information everyone's focused on… and everyone's worried about the whole situation."

He nodded back and took a moment to think the matter over. "Well, worst case scenario, they have an extended stay- it's really quite like a vacation at this point. But, if what you said is true that the barrier can exist without Hollow interference, then they should be safe at this point. The last batch of Hollows that we dispatched were enough to weaken the barrier so that can only mean that they were the ones creating it; the first batch were merely there to reinforce it."

"But what if more go through the barrier?" she questioned.

"They should be prepared for anything at this point to be honest… especially after what we've encountered up till now." Chojiro remarked. "I'm sure they'll be fine; Lieutenant Isane is a defensive fighter at best but she can hold herself in battle and Officer Yumichika is from Division Eleven… that alone should be enough."

"I hope you're right." she replied with a quiet sigh before she seated herself on the edge of his bed. "How are you feeling anyways? I guess everyone got sidetracked by the barrier situation that we kind of pushed you aside."

A light chuckle escaped him just before he spoke. "Do not worry about it, the solitude gives me plenty of time to rest; I do not believe I would be a gracious speaker in a mixed conversation if you had spoken to me during the last few hours. But… overall, I'm feeling fine. This is not the first time I've gone through this procedure and more than likely, it won't be my last either; it's a feeling you kind of have to get used to when you've gone through it as many times as I have."

"Chojiro… what do you get yourself into sometimes?" Momo replied as she brushed aside a loose strand of hair; tucking it away from her face.

"I sometimes ask myself that same thing."

The brief squeak of the door opening behind them drew their attention to the blonde-haired Division member in the doorway; a slight downturn of the corners of his lips remarked on his brief dislike of the ongoing situation. "Lieutenants Chojiro, Hinamori, I thought we advised to not have you two in the same room without supervision; I remember well of the last incident."

"Cool down, Officer Yasochika." Momo responded. "We told you that wasn't going to be repeated."

"Yes, I believe I remember that but I assure you… I have seen repeated offenders; I'm not taking any chances against my sanity." he remarked. "As well, I believe Captain Unohana advised for no midday visitors- no matter the incident."

"She's quite alright, Yasochika, she was just passing on an important clip of news." Chojiro replied.

"… What kind of news?"

"Uh well… you may have to get used to this place without Isane's presence for a bit longer." she answered.

He nodded briefly and pushed up on his glasses. "Ah yes… I overheard Lieutenants Kiyone and Sentaro talking to one another about it. If they really are lost in the human world, aren't there others there we can contact about this mess? Maybe they have some kind of insight."

"I had considered the same thing but the problem is… since they're already trapped inside of it as well, they won't be of much help; just the same, we believe all of the Hollows have been exterminated so it's basically a waiting game for the barrier to drop." Momo explained. "Plus, I don't think either Yumichika or Isane would want to speak and/or associate themselves with those people. This mission was supposed to be a secret so they can't risk anyone finding out about it."

"True…"

"Not to mention, I do not believe Officer Yumichika would be happy with the presence of several other men around Lieutenant Isane."

* * *

><p>It was like spiraling rushes of heat flowed underneath her skin with every press of his fingertips as they guided themselves underneath her shirt; the white material bundling around his wrists as he moved to squeeze his hands around her ribcage. The given pressure was enough to garner a low moan from her as she moved to drape her arms over the back of his neck as she pulled him in closer against her; one hand moving to press down against the center dip between his shoulder blades. His skin was flushed to a light crimson tone as her fingertips made soft circular motions against him and reminded him constantly of their presence.<p>

The needed yet dreaded break of their embrace came with a sharp gasp from the both of their lips as lungs craved outward for fresh air. Her fingers slid back along the curve of his jawline before the soft flat of her thumb moved to gingerly trace the curve of his lower lip. And that was all it took before the embrace was engaged once more; the long, oxygen-starved kiss replaced by a smaller collection of them that provided more friction and easy breathing.

Fingers moved to loosen the buttons on the front of her blouse, slowly working their way up from the bottom to reveal pieces of pleasurable skin underneath, inch by inch. She reached down to assist with the removal process; partly entangling her fingers with his own as she moved at a quicker pace than him. The white material of her shirt eventually coming undone as it wrinkled and slowly began to fall around the curves of her sides, offering nothing more than her own skin underneath it. Coming to the last button, she let him finish it off as her hands moved to tangle in his hair once more. He drew her in for one more suffocating embrace as he moved to push the remaining material from her body; just lightly tugging it underneath her shoulders to prop it open. The embrace was enough to blind him from her barely tanned skin, the subtle curves of her breasts that were nestled in the black cotton bra that suited her comfortably- or at least it was enough to distract him for now.

A soft groan escaped her as his careful lips moved to cradle the curve of her neck; working the soft flesh between her neck and shoulder and feeling the easy way her muscles seemed to move underneath. Fingers curled against the back of his neck and lightly cupped the base of his skull as he moved to the crest of her collarbones now.

It felt like her heart was straining to get out of her chest now as he moved to embrace the thundering impact.


	34. Chapter 34

**A/N: Ugh, long story short: had to sacrifice a whole month to work on my class project once more, due to technical mishaps from last time, ended up passing with probably the second best project in the class after presentations; decided that I had enough stress to kill an army from my classes, so I took a month off, after an eight-hour drive back home, main computer screws up and has to be taken in to get fixed, finally get it back... lose all inspiration to continue typing. That's how it usually works though, right? Finally get the time to sit down and focus after a two month absence... and I have nothing. But, after two months, I figured I needed to update at least something- even if it's not complete. I'll probably come back and reload the full chapter when I finish it, or just continue it in a separate chapter, haven't decided yet.**

It was a stumbling, unorganized mess to get to one of the rooms as hands were stubborn to let go and skin too bare to be left alone. Her slightly taller frame added to the complications as they had to work out a slight back-bending system to keep most of their embraces intact; although at this point, lips weren't all too excited to go back to one another, far more curious to the taste of flesh and curves now. One of the partly cracked doors nearly broke open at the addition of their weight as she tossed off her already mostly discarded shirt and vest combination; letting them gather wrinkles on the floors. It was a stumbling of movements as the edge of the bed pushed against the back of her knees before she wrapped her hands around his waist. She forced him around and managed to knock out his balance; overcoming his sense of weight and causing him to collapse against the mattress instead with her hands still tightly gripped to his bare waist.

"You Division Four members play rough." he remarked; listening to the way the mattress squeaked underneath him as her weight was added. He watched the way she slowly moved herself over him and felt the soft caress of her hands as they moved up along his muscular torso.

"Well, you have to have some kind of strength when dealing with unruly patients- mostly from your Division, might I add."

"Most of us don't like being held down, although I have no problem with it."

A light chuckle escaped her as she brought her lips against his own once more; leaving the previous talk on hold for a moment. She could feel his hands move to grasp at the curve of her ribcage before his touch relocated to hold over the center of her back. "Actually, I won't lie to you, this whole 'dominant' kind of position is a little awkward for me when it's not in terms of medical healing."

"I could go hurt myself real quick if you want me to."

"What? No, I think that'll just ruin the mood." she started. "This random, spontaneous mood of ours."

"Well, I'd try for a more romantic one but this one seemed just as fitting." he replied as his hands shifted to lightly cup her jawline. "Now this is the part where you kiss me and make me shut up."

"Gladly."

She slid her hands up along his shoulders before fingers moved to tuck along the back of his neck; her thumbs lightly pressing themselves into the soft under curve of his jaw. The curve of her lips balanced lightly against his own in temptation as the embrace started out with an opened demeanor. It was light coaxing to leave their lips almost perfectly balanced as the embrace itself seemed to come with the shared breath between them. He tugged her forward to complete the physical connection and let the compromised sense of air melt into their shared lungs; giving in to the desire to engulf himself with her taste and the heat of her mouth.

Hands had been severely limited to specific areas of her ranged body but he made means to slowly break that. Fingertips trailed down from her jaw as he took in the soft curves of her neck and the outward shape of her bold shoulders; tucking themselves beneath her arms, he followed the gracious shape of her ribcage down to the more subtle curves of her vulnerable sides. The heat of her skin seemed to radiate itself back and flood in the midst of his grip as he held onto the soft flesh of her waist for a brief moment. The more 'determined' set of his mind was willing to tease and play with the thin waistband of her jeans that resided well within his reach. He traced the curve of her legs before his hands moved to grasp at the back of her thighs as he playfully pulled them closer to him, almost overthrowing her balance.

He did push it enough to where he could safely reverse their physical roles as it was his turn to press her into the mattress below. The sudden press of her hands against his chest seemed to bring to notice just how heated his skin felt against her own as she carefully shifted her touch to uncover seemingly random spots of flesh. It was almost unsettling how hypnotic it felt to have the pressure of her fingertips against him and running down the length of his torso; falling in and out of the grooves of his muscular abdomen before she moved to touch at the inward turn of his pelvic bones that just barely peeked over the waist of his pants. There was a sense of agony as his heart continued to thunder in his chest with every progressive touch, whether it was her full palms pressing in against his lower stomach or his hands still tangled somewhere around her waist. At this point, he could barely focus on the ongoing environment around them or even what exactly was going on.

The only thing that was important was the soft, subtle presence of her lips against his own.

The wondering touch of curiosity and pressing knowledge to scope out his physical anatomy down to every inch of skin and curve of muscles; he wasn't a man of medicine, he didn't know the scientific names for every structure piece but those words didn't matter to him.

Her body, in any present form, was beautiful. He wasn't a man of religion, but this was the closest he would ever get to any kind of salvation. If she was made to be a temple or throne to some kind higher being then one could consider him a follower- a devoted one at that.

He moved to grace the curve of her neck with the heat of his lips; feeling the light pulse of her heartbeat against him. Her skin was warm to the touch and unbearably sweet to his tongue as he traced small shapes and figures with the tip. The rounded edge of her fingernails pressed almost harshly into the back curve of his waist as she gripped tightly against him. Every touch was a lingering pause as he moved from inch to inch, making sure not to skip a piece in the long trail to trace down her body. There was a gracious press of the lips against the dip of her nape that lead into the crevice of her collarbones. He just merely brushed the flat of her sternum but stopped long enough to feel the delicate raise of her breath that lifted the curve of her chest plate in against him.

A quiet moan slowly escaped from her lips at the gentle embraces as he moved to accent each one with the mere, soft underbrush of his tongue. Her back arched just ever so mildly as she felt the easy way he touched over the valley between her breasts before he moved to the outward curve of her ribcage next. She barely even noticed how he had to withdraw for a moment to rethink his physical position but the feel of him against her flesh once more was refreshing. His hands moved to grip her side as though to move along with the path of his lips as he pressed against the firm flat of her mid-abdomen. It was almost nerve-wrecking with how sensitive her skin was becoming with every pushing embrace against it; the nerves underneath seemed to tingle slightly with the feel of his lips and the warmth of his tongue following the outer shape of her flesh; it even felt as though her muscles were trembling lightly with the descending embrace.


	35. Chapter 35

**A/N: The last chapter will get finished eventually, I promise. I'm still fighting with myself, with this story and with writer's block on top of those; I try to give myself a break between each chapter but it's just not working out as promising as I had hoped it would. Thank you for the reviews; they're greatly appreciated. This story will eventually get back on track, I don't care how long it takes. Okay, actually I do care how long it takes. I don't want another Lessons in Love on my hands.  
><strong>

A drawn out sigh escaped him as he slowly moved to roll over onto his other side; one arm landing in the empty space next to him as fingertips curled into the vacant sheets. He could barely convince his eyes to pull open as the blurred vision revealed the one strip of news he was already aware of. He was the only one left in bed, which he guessed wasn't all too surprising but the question remained on where the woman had gone off to instead.

Groaning lightly, he eventually pushed himself up and listened to the loud pop of his shoulders as they aligned once more; his disheveled purple locks falling down around him. He had to practically roll himself out of bed in order to get to his feet as one hand moved to rub the soreness that had settled in the back of his neck. Hands grabbed the closest clothing set there was as he pulled on a pair of jeans from nearby, just enough to make him decent before he left the room. He made a slight attempt to control his messy locks as he made his way to the doorway and eventually stepped out into the hallway; glancing down both ways by habit before he moved into the living area. There was a soft humming noise from the kitchen that drew his attention before he leaned in against the hallway opening to watch her.

She was behind the counter stirring a cup of tea in hand, her silver-locks still somewhat disheveled just the same; a gray sweater jacket was pulled over her shoulders to reveal the white tank-top underneath it. She seemed perfectly content and there was just a small hint of a smile on the corner of her lips as she became lost in her own thoughts. He swore he could just stand there and watch her for however long was possible without her notice.

"Not much of a cuddler, are you?" he teased. "Unless you're one of those 'hit it and quit it' kind of girls."

She glanced up at the remark and tried not to choke on the sip of tea she had just taken. Setting her cup down for a moment, she brought the back of her hand to her lips before a light chuckle removed itself from her. "Of course not, I just couldn't sleep that's all... not to mention, I find it difficult to sleep past nine anyways; you can blame Division Four for that."

A brief chuckle escaped him just the same as he pushed himself from the wall and ran his hand through his hair once again. "Well, Captain Kenpachi doesn't give a shit when we wake up as long as we're up in time for training."

There was a light tilt as she cocked her head just ever so slightly to one side. "Don't you guys normally train around two in the afternoon?"

"Yep."

Shaking her head, she went back to her tea and dropped the discarded spoon into the sink; wrapping her hand around the warm ceramic, she lifted it just enough to try for a second sip without the fear of choking or spilling it on herself. "That would explain why you didn't wake up when I left."

"I had a rough time, you can't blame me." he shrugged playfully as he eventually pushed himself to slowly make his way through the living room; he gave into another short stretch to relieve his muscles and listened to another satisfying chorus of popping. "I was up all night with the most beautiful woman."

"Is that so?" she questioned; stepping out from the kitchen as she moved to take a seat on the couch in the living room. They barely passed one another but she took the opportunity to slam her hand lightly against his vulnerable abdomen while he was stretching. "Did she sneak in after I left?"She caught the light way he chuckled in answer before she moved to the far end of the couch and took her usual seat; folding one leg underneath her as she leaned back against the furniture arm to situate herself. Fingers gently tugged at the light, knitted jacket she had tossed on before when the thin material threatened to slip off one shoulder; it was just something she had been quick to pull on after her morning shower, in fact she had forgotten she had packed it in the first place. Making herself comfortable against the relaxed cushions, she watched as he fixed himself a cup of the fresh tea she had boiled up during her morning time. "Let me ask you something."

"It was good for me."

"You're disgusting." the remark left her in a playful tone as she rested her still warm cup briefly against her abdomen. "I was just thinking earlier this morning about this whole ordeal and everything that's happened up to this point… do you think this 'thing' is going to last? I mean, we've jumped the gun on it a few times and skipped a few steps here or there, not like there's really any guidelines to follow though. I guess the whole thing just feels more like a fling than anything else, although I could just be wrong with that assumption. I'm not really working off all too many personal experiences, but from things I've observed from the people around me... I don't know, I guess we just feel out of place."

Listening to her speak, he shrugged lightly as he finished readjusting the cup he had poured out for himself. He found his way out of the small kitchen and worked himself into the living room, where he made his way over to her; taking the empty end of the couch that remained. "I don't generally like to look at things in the long-term run, it's more enjoyable if you take them day-by-day and go from there. There's less worry and less hassles, although it does come with its own lists of cons just as well. Personally, I don't think I could see myself with anyone else. And you know, even if it is just a month-long fling of some sort, then I can rightfully say these days have been the best in my life. On another note to mention though, just look at the people you're also taking comparison too. While I like to keep from overlooking things, I wouldn't necessarily say I'd like to handle it how Ikkaku handles... his relationships. I mean, for him, it's basically a game of risk that he plays all too often and pretty much whenever he's in the human world. You'd think someone would've caught on by now with how little he looks forward through things."

She briefly nodded and stared down at her tea for a while. "Well, I guess I shouldn't have complained so much about this mission when it was first handed to us. Not to say that I was expecting any of these Hollow attacks or getting stuck here by some power outside of our means."

"You know, if I had known any of this was going to happen before we got here... I think I still would've tagged along for it."

Chuckling to herself, she moved to kick him lightly with her foot. "We are quite a pair of romantic saps, aren't we?"

"Well at least we're beautiful." he added; holding his cup up slightly in a mock expression of a toast. "So what should be on our agenda for today?"

"I don't know, is there anything to do really? We've pretty much exhausted every other option here." she answered with a quiet shrug; pulling up on her jacket once more when it fell down. "We could go down to the park and watch all the kids run around; I know how much you would like that." it was difficult to ignore the slight grimacing expression that passed over him for a moment at the offer; the small wrinkle across his nose proved some minor restraint on his part though.

"Have I ever told you how much I appreciate your humor?" he questioned as he sipped carefully at the hot cup in hand; catching the small curve that turned the corner of her lips into an almost amused expression. At his expense, of course. Setting his cup down for the moment, he looked over to match her smoky-Hazel eyes against his own. "I have a better idea, why don't you show me that dress you bought yesterday? It looked quite elegant."

"How about not?" she replied; watching as he didn't seem the least bit pleased with her answer. "And I don't care if you saw me naked, you're not seeing me a day early in that dress."

"What if I move our reservations up a day or two?"

"Did you remember to make reservations?"

"Well now, isn't that the question of the day."


	36. Chapter 36

It was just a date.

Nothing more than a few hours out in some high-scaled restaurant that was probably extravagant to the point of being ridiculous and tacky; the serving crews paid fairly decent to keep themselves from blurting something out about the ugly decor and ill-colored tablecloths. Or perhaps he was just merely overreacting about it to keep himself calm. Not that he was worried or anything… The fact that it had taken him ten minutes to arrange his tie and it still wasn't done was just a mere inconsistency; he hadn't used one in so long, his skills has gotten a bit rusty, that was all. Giving up on it for now, he straightened out the black jacket of his suit and gave yet another look at himself in the mirror. It was just the classic black-tie affair uniform with the crisp white shirt underneath, and… well, an unmade tie for now but it would be done before they left. In all honesty, it wasn't his best suit but he didn't want to pack that one in fear that it would wrinkle or get destroyed; and seeing how things had gone along in the passing weeks, he was glad it was safely hung up in his closet in the Eleventh Division house.

He didn't really have to worry about his hair since it was always in line.

Everything else seemed to be going smoothly just as well.

The reservations had been set a few days before and they still had an hour to cash in on them; they were both getting dressed up and prepared in separate rooms- or rather separate ends of the apartment. Hopefully she still liked her dress and didn't decide to hate it at the last minute, he had seen some of the other female Shinigamis pull that kind of trick; if that happened well… they could always just stay in the apartment and… watch TV. He doubted that she would step out from the date though, she wasn't the type of person to waste someone's time like that and would at least give it an honest chance- even if she hated the dress. He couldn't see how, he was certain it would look beautiful on her regardless but women seemed to have a different train of thought and different eyesight than men did.

Other than that, everything seemed to be in line, at least from his point.

Unless something went terribly wrong this evening and screwed up his plans. What if the restaurant wrote his name down wrong? What if the restaurant turned out to be a complete waste and was a massive disappointment? He did really only choose it because of the name and description, as well as a few pictures… it wasn't like he had actually been to it or even seen it personally. If it did turn out to be a setback then that would be rather embarrassing for him. What if some guy at the place tried to hit on her? What would he do in retaliation to that? The best option would be take the guy out back and hide the body but that was just his opinion on the matter.

Oh, listen to him, he sounded so… human.

Here he was more worried about trivial, non-life threatening matters when his attention should've been more focused on what if a Hollow showed up or something? What if the barrier was never lifted and they were stuck here for an infinite amount of time?

On second thought, let's go back to the restaurant matters instead, at least he had a decent answer for those ones.

Stepping out of his small room, he tried to go back to fixing his tie as he went down his mental checklist; marking off each note as he thought them through. The only thing he was missing was his tie and his date, and only one of those was easy for him to situate. "Miss. Kotetsu, are you almost ready?"

She glanced up at his question and chuckled lightly to herself as she fitted in a pair of new earrings. "You could say something like that."

For once, she almost hated keeping her hair short since there was no way to style it but… again, it was safer to keep it as such when working in Division Four; sometimes patients got out of hand and she didn't want her hair to get pulled- she already had a close encounter with her earrings once before. She toyed with the long dangles of her newest set and observed how they hung halfway down her neck, almost touching her shoulders… perhaps they were too extravagant. It was like she felt both overdressed and under-dressed at the same time. She didn't go on very many dates, well actually none that required this much preparation; that wasn't to say that no one ever took her anywhere nice, they just didn't have extravagant places in the Society. Well maybe they did and she just didn't know about it. Matsumoto did used to talk about this one place- ah, she was just wasting her time and distracting herself with these thoughts.

Hands moved to smooth out her dress for the seemingly hundredth time that hour; feeling the soft material of the dress conform to her tall figure and smoothing hands. The split felt like it was a bit higher now than how it was in the store but that could've just been because of the flesh-toned stockings she had slipped on underneath. It just felt like her shoulders were suddenly too broad or her waist was too thick or… her legs were too long- not that he would really care for those matters. Maybe she was just feeling hypersensitive about it, but that was normal right?

She had gone against wearing make up considering she didn't bring any and… well didn't own any anyways; she never had time to put it on so it was an useless matter to her. It seemed like the rest of her outfit would make up for the lack of chemicals on her face. What, with the triple digit dress, the slimming stockings, the hanging earrings and the black flats she was about to slip herself into. Heels was another thing she was venomously against just the same and the dress looked fine with the new flats regardless. Of course, had Matsumoto been here that would've been a complete different story. But throwing on another three or four inches to balance out her already six foot frame on tiny little squares was not something she wanted to risk; it sounded like a mess of broken ankles, sprained heels and pain all over.

Alright, everything looked to be in order and there was very little chance of suffering a wardrobe malfunction. It would seem like she was set to go… now all she had to do was actually get herself to step out into the living room. She didn't know why she suddenly felt so nervous about it. It was probably just her nerves, that was all; they tended to get themselves all jumbled together just before a large event.

"Are you sure the restaurant spelled your name correctly?"

"Yeah, I mean Ayasegawa isn't that difficult…"

She caught the light way his voice seemed to trail off as though he was trying to assure himself just the same. Shaking her head, she checked herself over for the last time- she swore- before fingers grabbed her small black handbag from the dresser and headed out. They still had an hour to go but they wanted to get there a bit early and check the place out. "Alright, handsome, let's head on out. And remind me not to get anything messy, I don't want to stain the dress."

"Oh, I'm sure it'll be fine; I mean, if it's black then not a lot will-" he started as he finished arranging his tie before he turned back to her. She was toying with the simple neckpiece that held up the top half of the dress which openly exposed her slender shoulders; the fabric followed along the curves of her chest and seemingly clung to the narrowing shape of her waist. Switching her attention to her handbag instead, she slowly started over to him and showed off the long split up one side of the dress; her leg just peeking through every now and again as her movement shook the small fabric train behind her.

"Not a lot will what?" she questioned, although already knowing that there was a low chance he would finish his sentence. Not that she really had all too much to say for herself… he looked rather dashing in a suit. "Forget it, let's just head out and see how well this date will go."

"… Yeah, yeah, date." he repeated as he snapped himself out of his slight daze. "Well, it's not all too far from here, so worst case scenario, the restaurant is atrocious; we can simply come back here, dress back down and head out somewhere else for the evening." he watched as she nodded in agreement before she moved towards him and eventually passed by. He had to chuckle lightly at her choice of footwear for the evening. "Decided against heels for the night?"

"Ayasegawa, if I wore heels, I'd literally be able to step on you right now."

"I wouldn't count that as a bad thing."

* * *

><p>"How long has it been? A week?"<p>

Nanao sighed briefly at the question and gave a light shrug in response. "I think it's been longer. Almost two weeks now I believe." pushing up on her glasses, she looked over to where the blonde-haired woman was seating herself against the smooth heating rocks that lined the outside of the hot springs. She herself didn't really feel like coming out here but the Tenth Lieutenant had practically begged and dragged her out saying it would help to relax the both of them. So far, she wasn't feeling it. "My research still hasn't turned up anything useful."

"I think we're just going to have to deal and play the waiting game here." Matsumoto remarked as she pulled her thick locks up before she clipped them into place; keeping them out of reach from the water's surface. "Unfortunately no one here is like National Waiting Game Champion so we're going to have a difficult time dealing with it. But bitching and moaning about it isn't going to get us anywhere either. I guess the least we could do is not drive ourselves and everyone around us crazy."

She frowned briefly at the woman's comment but decided to keep to herself about it. "I suppose you have a point and in the end, I suppose we're just the ones overreacting with it. I'm sure they're fine and enjoying themselves fully, I mean it's like an elongated vacation to them after all."

"Hmm… yeah, it kind of is but I hardly expected to hear you agree to say such a thing."

"Well don't expect it again." Nanao retorted as she crossed her arms over the pale-beige towel she had wrapped around her body. "It only gives me a migraine to list all the worse-case scenarios, so I might as well go with an option that won't leave me irritated. Plus, we haven't had really any Hollow readings so we should be stable on that leg, and that was the one I was worried most about."

"You and everyone else." Matsumoto reminded before she turned her attention to the surrounding fence that was supposed to keep the area marked off and keep anyone of the opposite sex out. "I told Hinamori we were going to meet here just ten minutes ago and she's already late? How can someone do that?"

She rolled her eyes lightly and tried to level her focus on something else around them. "Have her burns healed completely? If not, then she might not want to risk putting them in scolding water."

"She told me they were healed, I mean Captain Unohana wouldn't release her if she didn't think her injuries were cured properly." the blonde shrugged. "I mean, I can understand why Kiyone isn't here or why Sentaro isn't either."

"Well considering this is a female-only spring, I would certainly hope there's a good reason Officer Sentaro isn't here." Nanao corrected. "Last I heard, Lieutenant Chojiro was just released from Division Four as well but was put on a week-long arrangement of bed rest. Knowing Chojiro though, he probably won't completely abide to those rules."

"Ha, you know, knowing those other two, they're probably in a better health standing there than we are here."


	37. Chapter 37

**A/N: A little late update for today because I didn't have my resources ready ahead of time. Thanks to everyone for the reviews, I know I've hit a few roadblocks with this story lately but hopefully I can pick myself back up soon enough. Edit: Ugghh, why, why, why do I get these Division mixed up? I'm fine with all of them except the last three that for some reason I just can't remember, and always mess them up. Thank you for the notice.  
><strong>

"Ugh, this place is revolting, this was a terrible choice."

She chuckled lightly at his reaction and tugged him in closer to her as they made their way down the open walkway that curved up to the restaurant front. It was certainly extravagant with the red carpet walkway that lead through a pair of black double doors that seemed to be composed of more glass than actual wood; black silk curtains were pulled decoratively off to the side as they draped down to match the obsidian tiles below. The inside of the building was the classic match of black and white themes while a heavy scent of sweet perfume and light cologne blurred together to create a decent atmosphere. Of course now she was beginning to think she was underdressed. "I like it, so I guess you're going to have to deal with it. Not to mention our reservations are coming up, and I'm not going to waste getting all dressed just to walk away. Besides, I'm sure once we're seated, you won't even notice the décor."

He frowned briefly at the interior, which he held a greater distaste for but decided to brush it aside with her words; she was probably right anyways. "I'll let you have this one but I can't promise any more for the rest of the evening."

"Well, I'm happy enough with this single victory." she laughed as she pulled him forward and worked her way through a few lingering groups that seemed to be waiting for their reservations just the same. He moved to slide his hand down along her back as they arrived at the front check in table before he stepped forward; allowing for her to wait as he checked in on their table. While he was going over name spellings with the clerk, she decided to take a small look at the other 'black tie' guest and tried not compare dresses and hairstyles. Jeez, even with heels, everyone looked really short. It was kind of funny and then she realized that they weren't really short, just normal size- actually, normal size plus three inch heels. Alright, so that might've been one hit too many on that point.

"Surprise, surprise, they got my name right; I told you that they would." Yumichika remarked as he came back and took her by the hand. "Now come on, we just managed to get here on time and our table's ready. You wanna talk about good timing and luck being on our side."

She chuckled and let him show her the way to their table, or wherever the waiter was taking them; allowing for them to past by other tables of patrons who were enjoying their evenings. White tablecloths were thrown over black-wood tables to keep up with the simple design. There were a few small vases that held white lilacs positioned in the middle of the tables while decorated silverware pieces were set up around. It was certainly more than what she was used to or even expecting but it was simple and nice while being… outwardly extravagant at the same time. Everyone else was wearing black just as well, a few were dressed in white and seemed to blend in with the decorations… then again, everyone kind of seemed to all look the same. It was a minor thought, that was all. She was certain she didn't look all too different from them.

"Ugh, do some of these people even look at themselves when they step out into public?" he muttered; pulling her in closer to conceal their words. "I'm surprised their dates aren't embarrassed to be seen with them."

"Well you know, if you have strong enough feelings for someone, you don't really care for what they dress like." she reminded.

"Are you trying to defend that burgundy tie with the red vest?"

"… That's just a whole lot of love with that one."

"I'm not sure if love is the only thing going on, but that's just me." he mused; watching as the waiter in front of them paused just for a brief moment in front of an empty table, long enough for them to take note before he took off once more. Well, it's not like he cared much for entertainment, he just paid for the table after all. He grabbed the first chair of their table and pulled it back for her, waiting for the woman to seat herself before he walked over to the other chair. "I suppose it's not as bad on the inside, but still perhaps they should change their ad; it's all misleading."

"You try too hard to impress me." she chuckled. "You should know you don't really have to; you did plenty of that last night."

"Please, Miss. Kotetsu, let's not discuss private matters in public."

"Oh, well in that case-" she started; catching him slightly shake his head at her beginning remark. "Alright, fine, we'll keep the pillow talk for later, and keep it appropriate for now. What exactly is there to talk about though? I knew I should've written down a list or something."

"Anything is a conversation topic, it just depends on how you work it." he replied.

She nodded briefly and lightly brushed aside a few of her bangs. "Alright, well uh… where to start? I don't know, I read in some article about how you could discuss work over dinner, but uh… well neither of us have been to work in quite some time. Unless you want to count this as working, in which case we're getting paid to sit around and enjoy ourselves."

"And it's driving you crazy, isn't it?" Yumichika questioned; chuckling when he watched her give a rather enthusiastic nod. "Well, I'm not sure if I can really say I hate it or love it. I mean, most of the time it feels like I'm the only one doing the work; training doesn't count, I mean actually handling the paperwork and keeping files in order. And in which case, it's pretty much true. I asked Ikkaku to take over for awhile because I had another appointment I had to handle, we had to call in another Division to help take care of all the fires. Captain Kenpachi had to get the mail one day, he didn't come back for four hours because he got lost. I mean, that's just how Division Eleven works… or actually, how it doesn't work. I'd be willing to go out on a limb here and say that your Division doesn't have to deal with nonsense like that."

She playfully arched one of her eyebrows before she lightly chuckled. "Well, we don't have to deal with incompetence from our own Division; it's mostly from other Divisions who pass through, namely Division Eleven. As Lieutenant, I usually try to keep things running smoothly and keep the emergency teams in order and on alert for just about anything. I also have to make sure supplies are always freshly stocked and run inventory on different kind of medicines, as well as keep up with my own healing techniques. I should probably also mention that Officer Yasochika seems to have set me up as… some kind of rival to him and I have to constantly join in these 'healing contests' which only seem to show up when something massive happens and we run full staff; I don't see where the competition is in that, but it doesn't take all too much to win. Other than that, Hanataro normally keeps his distance and just does what he's told- Yasochika and Harunobu like to pick on him a lot though. Oh, and Harunobu is always spending his time flirting with all the nurses on duty; I know he runs the second relief team but he's pretty much… well, slept with all the female members on that same team."

"He sounds like an interesting fellow." he remarked. "Has he ever tried to put the moves on you?"

"Not really, I just overlook him. Literally."

"I have no doubts about that." he commented. "What else did this article say about topics? I don't really think either of us wish to linger on speaking of work and our coworkers all too much."

"There was one about talking about each other's friends, but we're already familiar with them. Uh… one about family but you know Kiyone, there's not a lot to her. Other than those, it's a bunch of questions about hobbies and talents." she shrugged. "Is there some kind of hobby and/or talent you have that I don't know about? And I mean a different talent than the one last night."

He tried not to snicker all too loudly at her remark and pinched the empty space between his eyes. "Why don't I let you answer that one first? I'm going to need a few minutes to get over that."

She laughed lightly to herself and tucked one hand underneath her chin as she leaned forward. "Well, I help Captain Unohana with her flower arrangement classes, so I have some talents in that… not that I can see it becoming of any use. I do like reading quite a bit, I usually need something to do when I'm awake during the ungodly hours of the morning. What else… oh, uh I know how to play the guitar."

"The guitar?" he repeated, just to make sure he hadn't misheard her.

"Yeah, Officer Hisagi taught me but then he kind of stopped when I ended up being better than him; I just told him that I couldn't continue the lessons because of a shift increase." Isane shrugged. "But yes, surprisingly enough, I do know how to play a few songs and chords."

"When we get back, you should serenade me with something." he teased.

"Ha ha, no promises, but you have to tell me any kind of hobbies you have first."

He leaned back in his chair for a moment and adjusted his tie as he tried to think of an answer. "Uh, alright, well I managed to get acquainted with doing paperwork and got some organization skills in the process. As for hobbies, not all too much, actually I don't get out a lot between the training schedules and other matters. I tried to take up something, like collecting items or even knitting but I always ended up losing interest in it. On a normal day basis, the most I do is train and get paper cuts. I don't play a musical instrument and I can't say I stay up to ungodly hours all the time but Ikkaku and I do enjoy drinking late at night sometimes."

"I think we just might be eligible for the 'Most Interesting Couple' award this year."

"It depends on who our competition is but I think you may be right." he nodded.

She shook her head and moved to lean back against her chair now; bringing her arms to cross lightly over her chest. "I think we still have a good running regardless, I bet with some bribery we could probably get enough of them to drop out and raise our chances of winning. Best yet, we could put down bribery for our talents."

"It's concrete at this point. We're perfect."

The sudden appearance of another waiter called for a brief interruption in their conversation and an order for drinks; considering neither of them had bothered to look at the drink menu beforehand, it also called for a brief listing of numerous wines and other beverages before they put in their orders.

"Well at least their drinks are decent."

She rolled her eyes playfully at him and watched the waiter zip his way through the collection of tables in the restaurant to head back towards the kitchen. "I'm not much of a wine drinker but I thought their choices were relevant to their establishment."

"You're just being modest." he chuckled.

"I'm just trying to enjoy my evening." she countered as she grabbed one of the folded napkins from the edge of the table and lightly tossed it at him. "You're just being difficult."

"Miss. Kotetsu, mind your manners."

The kitchen door had swung once when the waiter paused through and then stopped in mid-swing, giving off the anticipation that another one of the workers was coming through. Unfortunately enough, that didn't seem to be the case. She had only glanced over because the movement was caught the corner of her eye; she only managed to catch the low figure because of that curiosity.

The pair of glowing yellow eyes escaping through a revealed skull made her wish that they had ordered a stronger drink.


	38. Chapter 38

Don't panic, don't panic… that's only going to make things worse.

She tried not to make it noticeable as she kept her eyes on the slow-moving creature. Of course, to the human eye, the Hollow wasn't even present; she watched as numerous people moved on by without so much as a single problem with it. It was actually kind of an odd scenario to watch as a small group of waiters passed by while the Hollow only crept ever so carefully through them; almost moving through the group like a ghost. Maybe if they just ignored its presence for now, then they'd be able to find a more suitable place to confront it. Actually no wait, confront it? What the hell were they supposed to do? She could probably throw her shoe at it but that was about it. Maybe steal someone's glass of wine and chucked it at the creature… the was the best she had. Okay, okay, she just had to remain calm and not bring attention to them. If it was just the two of them present, then there was a very low chance that the Hollow would be able to pick up on them; before, when it was six or more of them, it was easier to tell by their concentration of energy, but they were both calm and relaxed now… there was no energy output.

They still had a good chance of getting out of here without an issue.

He noticed the way she seemed more preoccupied with something outside of his range of view, something he wasn't really going to bother looking at right now. Her expression wasn't saying much so… it could've been a variety of things behind him. He hardly doubted it was someone more well-dressed than he was, but also doubted it was some kind of perfectly sculpted dessert either. Hmm… he wondered how deep in thought she was though. "Isane?" Yumichika questioned lightly; noting that she barely even glanced to him. He frowned briefly before he continued on with his test. "Miss. Kotetsu, your dress is falling down a bit." still nothing.

With glowing yellow eyes and revealed skull, the overall creature seemed to take on the appearance of a canine-like structure; an elongated snout stuck out in front of him and yet the neck looked a bit too long to be canine related. She couldn't see its full figure from this angle, as a few tables and patrons shadows blocked her sight, but it looked to be a dastardly creature. Its lower jaw popped open for a moment before it snapped back shut like it was picking up on the different senses in the room. This one… this was clearly a much lower leveled Hollow, which was good for them but its overall actions is what threw her off. It looked like it was hunting, not merely out to destroy anything and everything it touched; there were plenty of innocent, defenseless people around for it to strike at and yet… it remained on a path.

Someone else was controlling it.

But who?

"Isane, you look beautiful this evening, I don't remember if I said that before. I'm almost tempted to skip out on the meal and simply take you back to my place and make reckless, wild love with you." he continued; almost laughing to himself at how ridiculous he sounded. Although finding it more humorous that her expression had yet to change either. It was almost more fun to see what would get her attention rather than see what had it already. Deciding to push himself a bit, after all any behavior couldn't be more ridiculous than this restaurant's décor, he reached over and lightly took her hand; noting she didn't even notice the contact. "You know, I'm beginning to think you might be able to change my opinion on children. There's this nice neighborhood just outside of the Society, we could build a white fence around our two-story house and have a small bundle of kids to fill up the backyard."

Still nothing.

Well, he was going to have to pull out the big guns on this one.

The more the Hollow walked, the more of its body she could see. The bend of its legs appeared to be jointed, not just because of anatomical structures but… like a puppet almost. It was like its body wasn't formally complete and it walked about like a mismatch of pieces. She bit into her lower lip for a moment as she watched it pause for a brief moment before it seemed to lift itself up. Its legs snapping into their proper positions as it lifted itself up to get a better look; a much longer neck snapped upward and gave off the appearance of a snake as its head moved from one place to the next. The body was larger than what she had been anticipating as a heavier stature curved out a broad chest plate and wider hips. What had once appeared canine now seemed to be more… deer-like perhaps? But, anatomically, it didn't seem possible- then again, they were dealing with Hollows and not all the rules applied to them. After all, she had seen pictures of some pretty weird and outrageous ones. This one was no different from them, with the exception it did appear a little more natural perhaps.

Okay, she was going to have to draw the line at this point.

They had to get out of here.

"Yumichika…"

"Isane, you are the most beautiful woman that has ever walked this Earth and I am not ashamed to admit that I believe I've fallen madly in love with you." he started; not even noticing how she turned back to look at him. "I want to take your hand in marriage."

If there was a moment where her heart felt like it was right in her throat, it was now. Oh, and by the Gods how it felt like it was crammed in there just the same. And for that brief period of time, she completely forgot about the Hollow that was just a few paces away from them. "Uh… can I… can I take a rain check on that?"

Oh Gods, it felt like he probably could've puked up his heart right now. All the blood felt like it rushed away from his face as he caught the slight stunned expression in her eyes. "Ha uh… you weren't supposed to hear that… I thought you were in this day dream kind of thing… I just- forget it; let's just act like this never happened." he stumbled as he quickly released her hand from his own. "A rain check isn't really needed…"

She was about to question the situation further but decided to drop it the moment she noticed the Hollow snap his head around to face them. "Look uh… we can deal with this matter later, let's just leave now."

"Ah, finally decided you couldn't keep being modest about the whole place?" he teased.

"There's a Hollow just a few yards away from us and it's looking in this general direction; if we make any sudden movements or call for our attention to be present, it's going to come this way and make a scene. But if we leave quietly, and keep our energy low, it's attention will shift again." she started; keeping one eye on the way the creature cocked its head back and forth. "Unfortunately for us, it'd probably be best to draw it out of here at least."

He really wanted to see where she was looking so he could get a good look at it just the same but decided not to go for it; he'd just have to get her to explain the whole thing much later. But at least she had a good reason for completely ignoring him before. "Alright, let's just calmly get up and… get out before the waiter comes back. You ready?"

She nodded and pushed herself to her feet; picking up her bag from close by as a means to distract herself from the observing Hollow. Waiting for him to get to his feet just the same, she let him take her by the hand as he walked by before he lead her back down the path they had just taken a few moments before. She tucked aside a piece of hair as they moved past tables of people who seemed to be peering at them as though they were creatures themselves. Well, it was hard to argue with that one.

"Was there a problem with your table?" the front clerk questioned as he watched them pass by.

"Uh, no, no problems-"

"He just proposed. We're heading back home to celebrate." she quickly answered; giving him a light push to keep him moving. They tried to keep their composure as they left the building and walked back down the same red carpet. "Okay, so part one of our plan is working, now what?"

"Do we have another part to this plan?" Yumichika asked.

"Um no, I didn't get that far; I figured we needed to get out as soon as possible and we did… which was surprising." Isane replied. "I'm more worried with what do we do? I mean, do we run from it or do we confront it? Because… with the way it was stalking around, it was here for a hunt; it's not here to mindlessly strike whoever was closest to it. I think it might've been sent here for us."

He frowned briefly at the words and glanced back at the building behind them. "I wouldn't be surprised to be completely honest… it seems logical that the Hollow population doesn't want us to be here; that's normal though, seeing as we are infringing on their hunting grounds. I hate to admit it but we need to take it out and confront it head on."

"That's the Division Eleven priorities showing up."

"You probably need to find some place else to be so you don't get involved with this."

"Oh please, I've been stuck in this situation long enough to deal with the combat; I think I'll be able to hold my own for a little while longer." she assured. "Even if I don't want to confront them, we really don't have a-"

The sudden eruption of glass shattering behind them was mixed with screams from the inside of the building as one of the windows blew outward. She watched as the Hollow braced itself against the impact with the ground before it slowly lifted itself back up; that same head cocking to one side once more as the puppet-like body pulled itself together. It was one foot in front of the other as it stalked closer to them, its jaw popping open once more as it seemed to draw in their energy path.

"There's no way of avoiding it now." he started as he pulled her back behind him. "The only downside is that we don't have Chojiro here to cover up the battle with rain again. Which means we'll have to put ourselves into danger by isolating ourselves from the public… we might have to separate too."

"But it's just one of them." she reminded.

"Yeah and when has it ever just stayed as one?"

The slight snap of its jaw pulling back closed was followed by the jolt of its front legs reaching out; the Hollow's entire body suddenly breaking forward into a full run. They barely gave time for second thoughts as they took off down the street in front of them, not even bothering to make it seem casual at this point as they pushed their way past people. The only thing she could think of at the moment was that if they didn't manage to escape the human world now, they were probably going to be frowned upon by the public. After all, suddenly breaking into a run after a window of an expensive restaurant shattered was probably not the best thing to do. She had never been so thankful she chose flats over heels than at this moment right now.

He kept his grasp on her hand tight before he ducked out of the way of the street and into the nearby alleyway between two buildings. "Alright, we somehow have to lure it into a desolated area where we won't be seen by the general public… or if we're desperate, we can head into an area with very poor lighting and hope for the best."

"Is that why you took us into here?"

"Something like that, yes." he nodded; cringing slightly as he heard the sound of claws scraping against the concrete. The Hollow was right on their trail, as he suspected and was hoping for. If they kept it's attention on them then they could at least keep the general population from danger. "You know, all I wanted was a simple date, how hard is it to get that? I mean, just one little evening without any distractions, or annoying friends or some kind of Hollow trying to kill us."

"It just has to be difficult for us, doesn't it?" Isane chuckled; daring a small glance over one shoulder as she watched the Hollow smash slightly into the nearest wall when its disjointed legs failed to act smoothly around the turn. "Even from the start… well just think, if we get back to the Society soon enough, then we can just pick things up from here and hopefully have a better chance of going somewhere. I do have to ask, that whole proposal thing -"

"It was a joke, I promise." he quickly interrupted. "I just wanted to see what I could say and get away with while you were preoccupied, which might I add, I got away with quite a bit of stuff. Besides, it would've been more elaborate and a much better setting had I been serious about it. I mean, does it even look like I have a ring in my pocket right now?"

"I don't know, you could've just been happy to see me."


	39. Chapter 39

**A/N: A little choppy today since I didn't write the chapters in successions like I normally do, or just take a really long piece and cut it up into smaller pages... like I usually do too. Hopefully not all too confusing, if it is, I apologize and promise the next one will be better. Would it be lame to post something about hoping everyone to have a happy New Year? Oh well, I still hope for it. **

"When we reach the end of this alleyway, let's break." Yumichika started. "I'll go right, you go left and we'll split down the street."

"Where exactly will we be going though?"

He shook his head and could only offer a brief shrug in answer. "I don't know, some place isolated and out of the way. I mean, it's nightfall, what's at least one place that no one would be at right now?"

"Well, I could answer that but then you'd hate me." Isane replied.

"I highly doubt- oh for the love of-" he cursed to himself; cringing at just the thought of it. The end of the alleyway was coming up just in front of them, they had very little chance of choosing another location. Sighing heavily to himself, he nodded and gave into the idea- only because time was moving against them at this point. "Alright, fine… look, as soon as we break, I'll meet you at the park; maybe if we're lucky, we won't run into any romancing couples in there."

"Or if we're unlucky, we'll get arrested because people we'll assume we're doing the same thing." she offered.

"Yeah but the difference is-"

"Look, I'll meet you as soon as I get there." she promised just as they broke free out onto another semi-empty street- she was partly thankful for such; how weirder could they seem just bursting out of alleyways and taking off like they murdered someone. Keeping up with previous orders, she snapped left while he took down the street to the right. They had walked this town so many times, she was almost certain she knew where she was going. 'Almost' being the keyword here… everything seemed much more different in the nightlight. Still, she kept herself at a brisk pace and ducked around the closest corner the first chance she got; hoping to avoid the eyesight of the heartless creature. She couldn't hear the claws clicking though… which meant it probably took off after the other man instead. Well uh… that wasn't any good either but she supposed he had a better chance at protecting himself than she did; he probably wanted it to chase after him anyways, not to mention he wasn't the one wearing a dress. She tried to keep most of the material from dragging against the ground but it was near impossible to do so without having to lift the entire hem of it up. Which was a shame, it was a beautiful dress… maybe she could get someone to repair it. That is, if it didn't get obliterated at the end of this mess.

She probably looked absolutely ridiculous right now. Even more so then before since she had someone else with her, but now by herself… she was probably a mad woman. Hell, she was running from something that the human world couldn't even see- okay, now she could see why the Fourth Division was banned from coming here; or at least why she would want to be banned. The human world had enough problems to give her a panic attack.

And speaking of panic… here was more of it.

Her hurried footsteps came to a brief pause as she watched a shadow-like figure step out in front of her. The creaking echo that came with every step of the body only reminded her of the Hollow back at the restaurant; the unformed joints like that of a puppet walking on a string. And much so, just as she seemed to relate the two, she watched as the creature stepped into sight. It's appearance almost near-identical with the exception of dull green eyes now- at least now she knew it wasn't the same one from the restaurant; of course, now she knew that there were two Hollows, not just one… lucky for her.

Stepping back, she watched as the creature moved with her step and concluded that it was going to follow any and every movement of hers. But she needed to go down this street in order to get to the park, which meant she'd have to run straight towards it. If she timed her attack just right… then she could probably get by without all too much damage. Holding her breath, she waited for it to steady itself before she pushed herself into its direction; she was taking a big risk with this one, but she had limited choices at this point. And on a short notice, this was the best she could get right now. Remaining true to its motives before, the jointed Hollow raced towards her in equal steps and speed.

She mentally called for the summon of a kido spell and watched as her energy formed a white light of power; she had to praise her sense of timing, just as the Hollow lunged up to grab at her, the spell went off and broke clean across its skull. It was a distance measure and smashed the creature straight into the concrete below while she darted on by without so much as a scratch. She only had a few brief seconds before the spell wore off so she had to be quick and use her time wisely. But she was still a ways off from the park… don't worry, Kotetsu, you can still do this.

* * *

><p>The sound of feet pounding the ground somewhere behind him said that he had succeeded in getting it to follow after him instead, which is what he wanted. Now there was just the art of trying to get to the park before the thing caught up to him. Judging from this one location and how he seemed to be heading back down the way he had just came from, he would have to pull some kind of complete turn somewhere. No actually… if he continued down this street and made the next left turn, then he could probably find a shortcut somewhere out here. Or maybe he could find a nice, isolated little area where he could release his sword and take this Hollow on, instead of just running away from it.<p>

But, he should just take things step by step for now.

At least she was fine and well on her way to the park- or at least, so he hoped.

For once though, he was thankful for leaving his good suit at home; he had a feeling that things weren't going to end so well for them- clothing wise anyways. And he would much rather this one get torn apart and shredded rather than his other one… well, actually he'd preferred if none of it got ripped but that wasn't going to happen. He had a feeling if this was like any of the other times, it was going to end with pain and disappointment. Well… hopefully not so much disappointment, but he didn't want it to be made up in pain either; it was a difficult matter to comprehend. Fuck, for a brief moment he was actually missing his fellow Eleventh Division member. There was never going to be a time other than now that he would wish for such a thing.

Alright, alright, focus on your bearings first, Ayasegawa.

If he crossed to the next street and followed it around the main square of the town then… that would put him on a clear path to their rendezvous area; well, it probably wouldn't be a 'clear' path but it would get him there. Now he just had to do so with a Hollow on his back and random, unsuspecting people all around him.

Here was to hoping he had a shred of luck in doing just that. People were probably going to suspect he was some kind of… drug addict running around like this. Well, hopefully he wouldn't have to deal with seeing them again after tonight. But that was getting a little ahead of himself, wasn't it? Maybe he was expecting a little too much for an ending with this ordeal. Perhaps he should be focusing on getting out of this Hollow's way instead of wondering what it was going to be like getting back to the Society. I mean, how exactly would they obtain that kind exit? Last time, Nanao was the one who managed to get the portal open in time and even then she had difficulty keeping it stabilized- and that was with the rest of them fighting and defending her. So, between the two of them, they were supposed to defend themselves and open a portal at the same time? Well, he supposed that would seem simple enough with just the one Hollow but still… it was a delicate procedure that he wasn't entirely sure if he could do correctly. It wasn't like Division Eleven had a class on opening portals in extreme, near-death situations.

It would be nice to go back though… this human world was doing nothing for them and the boredom was already mounting. Although, he did have to admit that the sudden case of 'free, unsupervised time' did allow for them to give this proposed relationship a nice run through. He guessed they could technically say that it allowed for them to personally see how well they could cope around one another and get used to each others habits and such. It was probably one of the best ways to get to know each other, by throwing one another into an isolated situation where they were faced with danger consistently around every corner. Oh yeah, definitely a method he would recommend to anyone.

Well just think, if they both got out of here alive, then it would make for one hell of a first date.

* * *

><p>There was a painful snap as she felt the once gentle metal of her earring eventually turn against her as force provided from the other end tore the jewelry piece clean out of her flesh; stretching the cartilage to its snapping point as the earring gave away into a small spur of blood and hot pain.<p>

She tried to set aside the previous motion and not let herself get distracted by the fact that she had actually liked the earring set up until this point. One hand tried to fit itself underneath the snapping jaw of the Hollow above her; the jewelry piece dangling from where it had gotten caught on one of its bony teeth. Fingers ended up getting cut as they came into contact with the sharpened ends before she managed to dig her grip into the fleshy spot of its throat and force it back from her. It had managed to catch up to her a lot quicker than she had predicted and her dress had proven to turn against her at the last moment as one of its heavy feet had gotten a hold of the black train of material she had mistakenly left behind her. The sound of fabric ripping had only been momentarily heart-breaking before the sharp collision with the concrete ground had knocked her to her senses. Not quick enough to deflect the Hollow's leap as it climbed over her and held the intention of tearing her throat out like an animal.

But now, as a bright-red energy collected in the middle of her palm, she watched as those dim green eyes seemed to black out for a moment. The mental call for another Kido spell blasted through the Hollow's tender flesh and shredded the skin like it was paper; a charred, scorched hole smoked outwards as every bit of tissue, muscle and any other anatomical substances were blasted out of the way. Fingers found themselves partly sinking into the melting flesh as it seemed to peel out from underneath her and send out sprays of crimson extract. Fitting one foot against the carved stomach, she forced the carcass off of her and moved to pick herself back up; scraped and bleeding hands started to dust herself off before she thought better of it.

She could deal with some minor healing when she got to the park, for now she just needed to put some distance between her and this body. Now, she was by no means an expert or any kind of scientist, but judging from the way the carcass had yet to dissolve or even turn to ash… that had to mean something. And it was probably something she didn't want to stick around and find out about.


	40. Chapter 40

**A/N: I wish I had a more valid reason for not updating asides from just not having my main computer (which is still under construction right now) but so far, that's really the only reason I have. I apologize greatly for the long, long, long, 60+ day absence and I wish there was more to say for it.**_  
><em>

_Come on, come on, where are you? _she questioned to herself as she pushed herself through the slightly damp field that surrounded her. It wasn't easy to get here and it certainly wasn't easy to lose that Hollow for just a few brief seconds, but she had managed to do so with only the loss of one earring in the process. The settlement of darkness all around her, combined with the sheer solitude and uncertainty in her steps made the overall situation uncomfortable. She said it once and she would say it again... she must've looked absolutely insane running around out here. What on Earth was she even thinking?

Oh yeah, regrouping with Yumichika and maybe figuring out some kind of plan to get out of this situation.

Well, she was out of the public eye- or at least as far out of it as she could get- so she could probably risk a spell or two. That was if the Hollow caught up to her, in which case it probably would soon enough... Oh come on, Kotetsu, get a hold of yourself!

Bracing herself, she continued across the open field and ducked into the darkened pathway that lead through into a small maze of walking places; the same place that, just a few weeks ago it seemed, caught them off-guard by the first Hollow strike. It was almost ridiculous with how it kept drawing them in again and again. When was this place ever going to leave them alone... but then again, it wasn't full of completely bad memories either- just the memories that she remembered most. This was where her and Yumichika discussed the topic of kids though and had a nice laugh over the terrifying concept... although it was a cute discussion regardless.

Man, if she thought she looked out of place enough, it was a good thing her mind wasn't it's own separate entity walking around; now that would be a sight to see.

Bringing herself to a slow pace, she waited to try and listen for any surrounding noises... anything to tip her off to a following form, maybe the smallest echo of toenails against the stone underfoot, a heavy pant of breath that didn't belong to her... anything? Only silence offered its nightly greeting, as well as a faint hoot of a night owl off in the distance. So far so good, Kotetsu, apparently you can keep yourself alive.

Alright... alright... now what?

Should she just wait for Yumichika to find her or go out and try to find him? No, no the plan was to regroup here, so she should stay put... but how was he supposed to find her? He probably had some kind of radar thing for that, or she would at least be able to pick him out in the desolate silence around her. Taking the slow moment to catch her breath, she reached up and touched lightly at her wounded ear, feeling the torn shreds of flesh and tissue partly hanging down. In any normal case, she would heal it, but that would require a release of energy and that would give up her hiding place here. And she didn't want to risk running into that Hollow again. So... she could just deal with the blood and pain for a little while longer, it was no big deal after all. She had dealt with worst wounds than this, right?

_Hurry up, Ayasegawa..._

He couldn't have... ran into any problems right? There were, at most, only two Hollows here and one of them was after her... unless it decided to depart from her trail and head towards him instead. No, no he probably just lost somewhere.

Yeah... yeah that's what happened.

* * *

><p>He normally tried to keep himself modest and appropriate at all times but... with the quickly approaching Hollow behind him, he couldn't help but to let a long slur of curse words race through his mind. How the hell was he losing so much ground when he was going as fast as he could? Fuck it... he was out of the public's eye for the most part and that was good enough for him. He felt a lot better having his sword out anyways.<p>

Listening carefully, he tried to put a decent amount of trust in his sense of hearing as he focused on the rampage of claws behind him. Every clicking contact with the stone pathway underfoot seemed to have its own pattern and he kept the rhythm repeating in the back of his mind before he found a difference in it. Well... what was a battle without a few risks? Tightening his grip on his sword, he turned at the last minute and perfected the correct arc with his blade as it followed fluidly behind him. The polished, sharpened edge of it made solid contact with the Hollow's jaw just as its head was rising in the slightest bit, moving with the long gaits of its body. Bone crunched underneath the influence of force and he watched as its slender head snapped to the side; its lower jaw splitting off with a rush of blood to follow its dismemberment.

It was enough to slow the creature down but not stop it. At least it gave him a bit of a headstart now... or at least he hoped it would give him enough steps to get out of its way.

Forcing his way through the emptying street, he gave a partly relieved sigh as that ever damned park came into view; he was sick and tired of the place but hell, it was almost a comforting sight now. At least it was an area he knew well instead of these nameless streets and alleyways he had been ducking himself through. This was the last time he was ever going to agree to a mission in the human world; he would much rather get stuck with a boring old desk job than have to repeat this scenario again. Unless, that is, Kotetsu was involved with the mission... but that was highly unlikely- there was no way someone would be able to get her out of Soul Society after this.

_Come on, Ayasegawa, get your head in the game. You're losing it!_

Alright, alright, just a quick dash across the street, a leap over the low gate surrounding the public area and an even faster pace across the wet field. He braced himself as the solid land over the wall nearly had his feet escaping out from underneath him as the damp grass was quickly deemed an enemy to his dress shoes. Grand. Oh well, slips and bruises were the least of his problems right now... He should just focus on finding Isane and... going from there. They didn't really have a plan asides from this one but they tended to do a great job with working on the fly, maybe they could get lucky again and hit another great idea.

Or not.

At this moment, it could swing either way.

For the love of- get yourself together man!

He tried to keep himself calm as he forced his way across the wide open fields, entering through a path that wasn't really identifiable to him. Then again, come to think of it... they didn't have a direct regrouping area and he didn't even know if she was here or not. She should've been though, she took the shortest path here while he went around what felt like half the entire damn city... but the question was just of where she would be now. Well, he highly doubted she was by the swings or taking a run on the jungle gym, ooh maybe the pool was open though, they could enjoy a little session of skinny dipping while they were at it.

Oh, someone had jokes.

Wait... wait, he knew exactly where to find her. Not exactly but he knew where to start looking at least and that gave him starting point.

A brittle-sounding howl echoed faintly behind him; it's spine-tingling shriek mixed with a partial gurgle as the missing lower jaw made it all the more difficult to enunciate the call. He felt himself stop breathing for a moment at the noise and silently prayed to anyone listening that it wasn't a call for assistance... that there weren't more here. Forcing himself over a bench, he landed on a familiar-looking pathway and followed its twisted, winding spine; watching as the end of it disappeared into the eager mouth of the forest line. Alright, alright... for once, this was a good thing. Even if the darkness just past his line of sight felt threatening and he didn't really want to go into it... she was bound to be in there somewhere and he needed to find her. Right now.

Should he do the classic call in the darkness to try and locate her or should he just rush through the maze of pathways and hope that by some grace of an upper authority that he would run into her somehow? That was actually kind of a tough decision to make to be honest...

One would make locating her easier... but also be stupid because it'd give his position away- fuck it, the Hollow probably already knew where he was heading anyways; he'd only be risking more if he didn't regroup with her now. She could be in danger somehow and... and he wouldn't be able to forgive himself if something happened to her.

"Isane!"

_Please answer, please answer..._

Silence gave him a brief, immediate answer and he cursed his own echo that mocked him. Okay... okay, maybe she was just too far away, or maybe he wasn't loud enough.

Or maybe she got killed and eaten by Hollows.

... You're losing Ayasegawa; you are really losing it.

_"Not so loud, do you want them to hear you?"_

The sound of a second voice in his head caught him by surprise as he actually stopped in his rush through the narrow walkway; taking a moment to evaluate what just happened and asking himself whether or not he just heard that... Maybe this was the breaking point... maybe he had finally succeeded in driving himself insane- if that was the case though, he would put a lot of the blame on Ikkaku.

_"There's a construction area towards the back, just a few turns from where we were first attacked... I'm right there. Do try to be quiet this time though and don't bring attention to yourself. I don't want to have to stitch you up when you get here."_

How the hell- oh yeah, she had that kido spell that transmitted messages, whatever. He knew where she was now and it sounded like she was safe enough... thank the Gods. Letting out a sigh of relief, he continued on along the path and tried to follow her advice of keeping quiet. But somewhere in the back of his mind, he wasn't sure if he was hearing fresh new howls or if they were merely the first one stuck on repeat, echoing through his subconscious. Well hell, maybe he was losing it after all.

His grip had tightened against the hilt of his sword again and again so many times he was pretty certain he had the pattern of it tattooed into his flesh. But he wasn't going to risk letting it go or resorting it back into its hidden form; if it meant that the Hollows had a decent chance of picking up on his energy levels, then so be it... if they wanted to come for him, then he would readily defend himself. No hesitation. The dark trees that surrounded him on two sides felt like they were forcing their leering eyes onto him and sent goosebumps across his skin; if there was one thing he hated most... it was someone watching him. Okay, well in a bad sense anyways, if someone was watching him out of admiration then that was okay, but if it was to kill him, then he had a problem with it. The ever-continuing color of black that clouded the outside of his vision was also something to worry about, he didn't like the fact of not being able to see what was ahead of him or what was around him. His nerves were shot enough as they were... he didn't need anything else to break them further.

But relief was quick to hit him again when he spotted the yellow caution tape just ahead, alerting any passerbys of the working construction zone.

Leaping over the small, yellow-painted fence behind the tape, he worked himself across the unfinished walkway and minded his steps to make sure he didn't fall. How embarrassing would that be? The only injury obtained from this struggle was when he tripped and landed on a loose brick which scuffed up his elbow. Well... he was here now, but where was she?

"Isane?" he questioned, minding his volume this time around.

"Right over here." she answered as she moved herself into his line of sight. Hands pressed the wrinkles out of her dress before she lightly picked the loose leaves from her hair. "Are you alright? Did any of them follow you?"

He shook his head and quickly moved himself to be beside her once more, hands setting themselves on her arms as he looked her over for a moment. "I'm fine, are you okay? You look a little beat up- what happened to your ear?"

"Nothing, nothing, I'll explain it later. Look, there's a second one here but... there's a good chance there's also more; I haven't seen any more but I don't want to rule out the possibility of it either..." Isane started. "We need a plan of action for once, I don't think we can just keep beating around the bush on this one."

"I was afraid you were going to say that..."

"Don't worry... I think I have a plan that might work; if it doesn't though, don't hold it against me."

"Yeah well... right now we don't have a lot of choices on our side." Yumichika reminded, glancing back once more as another howl pierced through the air from a distance. "We also don't have a lot of time on our hands either- not to say that I don't think we'll be able to handle these minions... it's just that I'm not really in the mood to fight them. Two on two sounds like a decent fight but I don't think it's going to last that long."

She nodded in agreement, shuddering briefly at the echoing howl. "Long story short... I think we might be able to recreate the same effect that Nanao got when we fought those Hollows from before. I mean, with every new set we've attacked, there's always been a shift in the energy wave and last time it left an opening just large enough to escape through. Well, not for us to escape through, but that's not the point here. If we plan this battle correctly and engage them in enough combat to stir up the same wave, we might be able to get out. I know, it's not the best plan and it's probably not even right but we don't have anything else to risk, so we might as well take it all down with us."

It took a moment for the suggested plan to sink in and he had to give himself some extra time to think it over. "Okay... well it's better than anything I could've thought of, but who's going to try and open the portal?"

"Oh uh well... I haven't really had any experience opening them since I hardly ever leave the Division Four barracks..."

"It's more of an energy-based thing and we don't train with those."

She bit into her lower lip for a moment; glancing up when a crackling of the tree leaves overhead spooked her. "I guess we'll just have to try it out and see what happens..."

"Alright, so... if we do it correctly, we'll get back to Soul Society; if it all goes terribly wrong, we'll probably get sucked into a black hole and never be heard of again."

"I think our chances are pretty decent."

Like he said before, time wasn't on their side so he couldn't just set the matter aside for further arguing. Nodding briefly, he gave into the idea and tried to think of the ways to get through with it. If they engaged the Hollows now, then their energy output should be enough to disrupt the wave and they had a good chance of getting the hell out of here... those were the good points; what were they going to do about the human world when they left though? Just leave it to the Hollows to make a playground out of it? Come to think of it, that wasn't his problem anymore to be frank; the Society could send in another, more well-equipped team to take care of this business. While he hated the thought of abandoning out on the mission, they had technically finished the original script a long, long time ago- there was nothing else written on paper to tell him he had to start here till the mess blew over.

"I think we can both deal with 'decent'; I'll get the Hollows, you... uh... stay here until I get back."


	41. Chapter 41

Alright... he had this situation in his pockets.

Lure out the Hollows, engage them in combat to stir up enough energy to disrupt the barrier, get Isane to open up a portal and... well things would go from there. And if it didn't work, then... things could go from there as well. At this point, they were throwing things against the wall to see what would stick and right now, this was the only thing they had. He didn't have a problem with it- this was the scenario that Division Eleven had trained themselves for, this wasn't anything new to him.

He abandoned the slightly stiff jacket of his, tossing it over a bench instead as he walked out into the open field of the park. The Hollows were close by, no doubt hunting him just the same he was hunting them... they probably had a better standing on him though. His grip shifted a few times as it kept tight against the hilt of his sword, almost burning the pattern of it into his palm. It was time to man up and get this party started- after all, he needed to get Isane back home somehow, didn't he? Maybe then put an end to this terrible date.

"Alright, where are you little fuckers?" he muttered to himself; his eyes moving from one end of the park to the next for any kind of movement.

Right there.

A good eight or nine yards to his right was one hunched down in the grass, it blatantly stood out despite its attempt to hide... which made it a decoy to follow. If Isane hadn't told him that there were more, he would've gone headfirst towards it. But he was smarter than that. Actually, on second thought, he could still use this to his advantage.

Fixating his grip once more, he tried to settle his breathing before he took off towards the noticeable Hollow; watching as its green eyes lit up at his sudden approach. He had to time this right or else... actually it would probably still work, it just wouldn't end as well for him- it'd still work though. Taking a deep breath, he tried to focus his energy into his sword and draw out the second Hollow based on the false move. Rushing forward, he heard the canine- heartless in front of him growl before it ran towards him; white jagged teeth snarled and snapped together as deep claws tore through the easy dirt underneath them.

"Come on, come on, where's your friend?"

The closer and closer the two raced towards each other, the more he wondered if this was really a trap to begin with. But somewhere in the back of his mind, he swore he heard a separate set of footsteps headed in his direction from somewhere behind him. That's right, you little bitch... he was ready to get this battle started and done with as soon as he could. The prospect of getting back to the Society was enough to convince him to make a stupid mistake if he had to for the sake of startling up some extra energy.

_"Don't hurt yourself out there." _

Her disembodied voice was enough to break his concentration for the second time that night as he caught himself second-guessing what he was doing in the first place. Breaking from his original run, he managed to side-step what the green-eyed Hollow was charging to do and moved to split its side open; his eyes catching how the second creature was already in mid-air just a few short feet from him, it's mouth gaping open as it charged towards him. He could either take a hard hit and risk splitting his face open or just drop his weight completely to the ground and avoid the attack all together. That was an easy decision for him to make. Pushing his weight backwards, he allowed himself to drop straight to the field below long enough for the creature to pass over and miss him completely.

Both of the Hollows were recovering from their missed chances by the time he was already on his feet and taking off across the field to get some space between them. Alright, so what could he do to possibly agitate them to release enough energy for them? Pissing them off seemed to be working easily enough as he heard a snapped growl behind him as they moved to run after his heels- but he still needed something more. Technically, he already knew the answer to this, so it was pointless to try and think otherwise... he really just wasn't in the proper attire to go for a head on battle right now. He wanted them both to get home though, right? This was the only chance they had and he wasn't going to fuck it up so easily.

Damnit though, this was going to be a date to remember.

Ducking his way through the nearby playground that just happened to be in his path, he glanced over his shoulder and watched as the two Hollows seemed to be having a more difficult time maneuvering around the slide and swing set; had this been any other situation, he would've had his share of laughing at the clumsy steps and watching as one of the canine's necks managed to get stuck in a swing. It was a distraction though and by the time he turned back to the front, he realized that. There was a small, half wall surrounding the sand pit area that he had failed to see in time and the rough concrete edge collided painfully with his slender waist. He swore it sounded like there was a crack upon impact as it hit it with enough force to overthrow his balance and send him fumbling to the other side. The sand softened his impact just a bit but still provided a little bit of pain to remind him of his own lack of perception. Here he was laughing at the dogs for being flailing idiots and now he put on his own show for them... fuck, he bet they were laughing in that little tiny head of theirs.

Pushing himself back to his feet, he moved to continue on his path before he heard that familiar, irritating scratch of claws breaking on a hard surface; the noise only existed for a few brief seconds before a sudden addition of weight agains this back gave him the answers he was looking for. Piercing teeth sank into the back of his neck and felt himself starting to collapse underneath the additional, unsupported weight that clawed at his skin. He twisted slightly as he fell and slammed the attacking Hollow into the ground instead, listening to the startled yelp that arose from its throat.

It was the overhead shadow that alerted him to the second Hollow in pursuit and momentarily put him into a place of panic.

Grasping at the sword that remained still in his grip, he moved to throw it in front of him and listened to the crunching noise as the creature managed to impale itself on the blade; breaking its sternum wide open as the tip of the sword managed to sever part of its spine just the same. Black liquid bubbled out from the impending wound and spill against his hands, the cold liquid almost burning against him as he moved to kick the Hollow away. Pushing his way upward, he turned in time to brace his forearm against the Hollow beneath him- almost wishing to crush its open throat that laid out vulnerable to him. Despite the legs that kicked out at him, sharp claws moving to cut open his left cheek for a moment, he brought his sword up above him before he slammed it back down; listening to the satisfying crunch of the sword as it broke through the Hollow's skull.

* * *

><p>Right there...<p>

She could feel the energy around her shift slightly and bring out a small shiver to her skin... or that might've just been the nighttime breeze against her instead. But there was a difference out there, she could tell that much. That sense of almost heaviness against her chest had moved away, she could feel her own energy flowing a little easier now. It wasn't enough to break open a portal but it was close... so close.

Maybe she should be out there with him. It would be easier to summon up the energy they needed and they could escape together- reducing the chance of one of them getting left behind... again. It sounded stupid and reasonable all at the same time. No, she... she needed him with her, maybe they could combine their energy instead and get a more stable connection to Soul Society. Or maybe she just didn't like the thought of being out here by herself, maybe she just wanted to be close to him again.

He told her to stay here while he dealt with the Hollows.

She guessed he would just have to deal with that not happening according to plan.

Stepping out of the isolated construction area, she tried to remember the maze of paths she took to get here and followed whichever one she could find in the darkness. Beforehand she had been hesitant to bring out her sword, knowing that the call of energy would be enough to make her target for anything in the area... but right now, that's what she wanted. While she was always saying that she didn't have much experience with a blade, the comfort that came with the weight of it in her hand was what she needed right now. Kido would only take her so far and in the case that she did run into something, at least she had a back up in case she couldn't form a spell quick enough.

By the time she managed to escape from the maze of turns and park benches, she could already tell where he was at this point... his energy was getting higher, which didn't exactly seem like a good sign right now. Flashstepping in this dress wasn't exactly a good idea but she did it anyways to get to him as soon as she could, although she made sure to slow down as soon as she ran into possible obstacles that could've derailed her. In the darkness with semi-adjusted eyesight, it was difficult to figure out where he was, especially when the playground area offered all sorts of black figures and illusions to trick her.

"Yumichi-" she started, stopping as the sound of a broken howl turned her attention elsewhere. She watched as a body was tossed into the air and landed just a few short yards away from her, the crippled Hollow remained still in the impacted area before a sharp chorus of cracks hinted that its bones were rebuilding themselves. Just like the Hollow from before, where she was certain she had blasted its face off twice now... it was regenerating at high speeds and restoring its form back to perfection. If the Hollow was here though, that meant he wasn't too far away.

"Isane!"

The grasp of his hand grabbing onto hers followed the call of her name and yet she still jumped slightly at the sudden contact, nearly getting pulled off her feet as she failed to immediately pick up on his motive. Stumbling slightly, she caught herself easily and had to minimize her own gait so not to leave him in the dust instead.

"I thought you were going to stay behind?" he questioned as he dragged her along with him, knowing well that the Hollows were already recovering from the blows he had managed to land on them. Not that he didn't mind that she was here... at least she was in his sight now and he was confident that she was safe. "Ah, forget it, just tell me if this whole thing is working or not."

She was more tempted to ask him about the blood that was running down his back but had to push the concern aside for now. "Yes and no."

"Those sound like decent answers, care to elaborate?"

"The energy is shifting, so what you're doing is working... but you need to step it up a few notches." she answered, glancing behind her for a moment at the sound of a second howl; watching as two different pairs of glowing eyes were already on pursuit behind them. "So that's why I decided to come out and join you."

"Don't think I can do my job correctly?" Yumichika questioned with a brief chuckle, hoping some small sense of humor would help them. "Well I guess the two of us should be able to piss them off easily enough... we just have to find out a way to do it." he glanced over to her and noted she seemed to be trying to find an answer for him, although she seemed more focused on something behind them instead. "This is kind of ridiculous the more I think about it."

"Well, it seems like only we could possibly do something like this." Isane remarked. "So any idea of how to-" before she had a chance to finish her sentence, she felt his hand release her own and watched as he drastically changed his direction; turning on his heels, he ran back towards the Hollows instead. "Yumichika!" without a sense of hesitation, or maybe even clear thought, she found herself turning back to run after him. Because that was definitely a good idea for her to do.

It was two-on-two now.

That meant they had a decent chance, right? Not to say that these two would've been able to overpower him so to say... this was just easier for everyone involved. Holding his sword out to one side, he put his aims on the Hollow with the yellow eyes and moved to split its throat open this time- as if stabbing it through the chest and severing its spine before hadn't been enough. If they wanted to kill these things for good, they'd have to kill them in one single hit... but before then, they would have to agitate them enough to release a decent amount of energy; it seemed like every time they had to regenerate, they released enough power to disrupt the barrier. But they would need something serious this time.

A bright-red burst of energy erupted behind him and he watched as her Kido spell shot right past him and collided with the yellow-eyed Hollow's face; melting the skin and muscle clean off its skull while shattering its teeth and severing its tongue in the hot eruption. He stopped for a moment and watched as the Hollow faltered and stumbled before it continued to charge him. If there was a more terrifying sight than that... he didn't know what it was and he hoped to never experience it.

That did not work out quite as well as she had been hoping for it to- if anything, it just made the whole situation worse. For him at least, not her. She watched as he moved in to take down the faceless creature; his blade sank into the Hollow's neck and cut through the flesh until its head was severed clean from its body. Her concentration broke slightly as she watched the head come off into her direction and almost bounce towards her feet, causing her to move off to the side to avoid the nasty collision. On the third bounce, she watched as the bone dissipated into ash... solidifying the kill for once. So they had to sever the head from the body in one hit or risk it regenerating itself... it sounded like one of those horror movies she stayed up to watch once before, but if it worked then it was in their favor.

The green-eyed remaining one seemed destined to fight her again and again as it caught sight of her distraction and made a beeline for her. The only thing she noticed was the snapping of its jaws and the sharpness of its claws as they ran underneath it, no doubt destined to rip through her flesh as soon as it could. Drawing her sword back, she threw it out in front of her and blocked the initial leap from the Hollow; managing to twist the blade and toss the creature off to the side. It didn't go far but its balance twisted out from underneath its legs and it went headfirst into the ground.

He didn't really notice how the Hollow dissipated beneath his sword, it was the rupture of energy around him that called for his attention to it. That was what they were looking for... this was their chance. Unfortunately, she seemed a little too preoccupied to notice right now, which left everything up to him... the one with very little experience in such delicate procedures.

They were definitely going to open up into some kind of black hole.

Focusing what energy he could muster at a time like this, he tried to remember the whole procedure from what he had read somewhere in his free time... oh Gods, he didn't know shit about it. It was all about focusing his energy and setting up the correct spell in mind, pushing every inch of concentration he could muster at a time like this into an image in the back of his head.

Ah, fuck it!

He ran towards where she was half-dealing with the Hollow, half constantly knocking it down and pushing it away from her. It was gentle move to push her out of the way as he caught the Hollow in the center of its chest and impaled it onto his sword. "We have a break, take advantage of it!"

She frowned briefly at his sudden appearance before his words finally clicked to make sense to her. The death of the first Hollow had been enough to give them the opening they needed. She wasn't going to let this moment pass them. The required spell that was needed had already been reciting itself again and again in the back of her head, giving her an advantage on the situation. It was just a bit difficult to move her attention away from where he picked up on her battle, but she needed pure concentration on this... or risk corrupting her energy.

Captain Unohana had always managed to make this look so easy...

She could do it.

Light-blue energy radiated around her and she felt the pressure surrounding her start to deepen as she attempted to reawaken a portal; a rip from one dimension to the next was not going to be easy but the opened barrier would give her the break she needed- hopefully anyways.

On second thought, Chojiro made this look really easy too.

The feel of her energy lifting away from her though meant that it was working. She felt an odd sense of warm rush around her before she glanced upward to notice the white seam that had appeared in front of her... Oh Gods, it was actually working... just a little more-

She felt a slight break come as something hit her right between the shoulders with the correct amount of force to shove her forward. She tried to catch herself but found the motive came too late as she fell into the white light in front of her; disappearing into the unknown area on the other end.

That wasn't supposed to happen!

What if it closed behind her? She didn't get a chance to finish the spell- what if he was stuck on the other side?

The white energy blinded her and she felt just a few short seconds of free fall as the area around her disappeared into nothingness. One moment she felt confined and the next it was like she was in her own little dimension... The silence gave her time to evaluate her fears as they circulated and caused panic in all of her senses. What happened? What if she ended up in the wrong dimension? What if he was stuck in the human world? What if-

Her questioning was cut short as she felt herself being thrown into another portal before her body collided with a smooth rock surface somewhere. It was enough to knock the air clean out of her lungs but when she gasped in an attempt to regain it, all she found was water surging into her throat. More panic circulated as she fitted her hands underneath her and quickly pushed herself up and out of the water she had landed in, coughing and choking as she tried to free her chest of liquid and fill it with air instead. There was the need to breathe and vomit at the same time but she managed to repress the latter one to try and regulate her lungs once more.

She stopped slightly at the sound of a faint howl ringing in the back of her head... and somehow, she knew it wasn't just a trick of her mind. Somehow, she knew now what interrupted her before. Were there three instead of two? Did they fail to kill the first one when it seemed so obvious? Whatever the answer was, she didn't have time to sit around and cough. Pushing herself to her feet, she forced her way through the few shallow feet of water underneath her and jumped back onto solid ground; feeling a slight burn in her right ankle and figuring it must've gotten twisted somehow during the rough landing. Just another injury she'd have to avoid for now as she broke through a slightly opened fence and continued on to the other side.

A slightly echoed splash somewhere behind her said that the other Hollow was just emerging as well; she had a decent headstart on it though... that meant something. She couldn't waste this opportunity.

"Was... was that..." Matsumoto started, clinging to the towel around her midsection as she found herself a few feet away from the hot springs now; she had practically scaled out of the water and over the edge at the first startling collision and moved away further away at the second.

"And behind her was a..." Hinamori stammered, standing close to her side.


	42. Chapter 42

**A/N: After hitting a lot of stumbling blocks and outside factors... it all finally comes to an end. When I started this story, it was not supposed to be this long and create such a twisting plot, but it has. For most of the time, I was always thinking 'I can't wait to finish this story' and now that it's coming to an end, I kind of regret those earlier thoughts. Fall Backwards was fun for me and I absolutely loved the creative freedom I took with it, I mean if you look over how much I bullshit (and I did A LOT) and all my stumbles, it was a fun ride. Personally, I don't think there's much I would go back and change if I could, which has to be a first for me. This is kind of my own little critique of the story and I think I'm going to give myself high marks for it, ha ha... egotistic much I guess? Anyways, off from that spill, I want to thank everyone who stayed along with it, read it and/or reviewed it. It means a lot and I was pretty surprised to see the turn out of people on it- although most of it seemed to just be for Yumichika, ha ha. **

He was too involved with the battle in front of him to even notice what she was doing, judging by the brief hint of light in the corner of his eyes though he guessed she managed to achieve what he couldn't. Which was good, all he had to do was finish off this last Hollow and then they could both escape- maybe anyways.

During the last leap, he moved his sword in time with the Hollow and managed to slice off a front leg right when it passed over him. He turned in time with the move and managed to look over right when she finally summoned up the portal... completely unaware of the dark figure sneaking up behind her. Where the hell did a third one come from? Then again, he supposed he shouldn't have been surprised by the sudden appearance... they both figured reinforcements would show up sooner or later.

"Isane-!" he started, only to watch as the warning came several seconds too late.

The new figure ran straight for her and managed to land a solid strike into her back, catching her straight off-guard and knocking her clean off her feet. There was a short-lived scream as she was thrown into the semi-finished portal in front of her, forcing her to disappear into whatever dimension was open on the other side; the new Hollow was close on her heels and went in after her.

For a brief moment, nothing else around him mattered anymore...

There wasn't even that possible fear of the portal closing or trapping him here or anything else on the related topic... he needed to know where the hell she was going; he needed to know if he would see her again. Chasing after her, he only got about halfway there before a sharp pain around his right leg brought him down. Serrated teeth punctured his flesh as claws reached out to shred the flesh down his leg, tearing away the easy, thin material that separated them. Son of a-

Twisting his way across the grass, he felt the motion only force his flesh further apart as the teeth managed to keep their tight grip on him. He hissed at the hot pain that flashed across his open nerves before he contorted his body enough to partly break the Hollow's jaw with a solid kick from his free leg. It was enough to stun the creature and force it to release him as he quickly dragged himself away from its convulsing head. At most, he had a few seconds before the Hollow would recover... which was all the time he needed right now. Forcing himself to his feet, he took off towards the portal once more and caught the slight dimming of its bright light... it was closing.. already? Fuck, it wasn't like it was completed in the first place anyways.

Bracing himself, he tightened his grip on his sword to ensure that he wouldn't lose it during the travel before he threw himself willingly into the light.

Let's hope this worked...

* * *

><p>She knew where she was...<p>

The flashes of Division houses that ran along her peripheral told her that the Hell they had been stuck in for weeks now was finally over... but she couldn't take time to celebrate that right now. She was absolutely soaking wet from the arrival in the hot springs, there was a Hollow somewhere on her heels and she still needed to get rid of it- there wasn't exactly a moment where she could catch her breath and feel relieved.

"Oh for the love of- just give up already." she huffed at the sound of a sharp bark close behind her, gritting her teeth to try and cancel out the dull sense of pain that radiated through her body. She wasn't hurting when she got out of the springs but with the shallow depth and accelerating at some kind of unknown speeds... she had to have bruised and/or fractured something. At least she remembered to keep her sword with her during the sharp travel- and not impale herself with it upon landing. It probably didn't help that every few feet she had to adjust her dress, the thin material did not do well in water and it felt like it was trying to slip off her body; she caught it a few times and managed to prevent a wardrobe malfunction by just a couple of inches.

You have one shot at this Kotetsu, don't mess up.

"Isane!"

She didn't know who called for her but she didn't have time to deal with them right now- offering a brief shake of her hand to alert them of a different situation right now. Maybe she could lose it and get someone else to deal with the thing... Part of her felt like it was up to her to get rid of it though, it would be like a symbolical thing and mean that this terrible ordeal was finally over with. Ducking down another dirt trail, something else that wasn't exactly reacting well with her attire, she listened to the sounds of its claws ripping through the ground in an attempt to catch its weight and balance. She tried to brace herself for her next plan of action, knowing well what she had to do at this point and knowing that she needed to get it in one clean hit...

Tightening her grip, she stopped just long enough to turn back around to face the creature this time.

Like the Hollows before it, its bony structure moved with graceful ease with the help of its elongated legs and towering neck; a wide jaw was left open to reveal eager teeth and a tongue that was split down the middle. This one didn't have a set of glowing eyes though... only black, marble-like orbs that gave no hint of life inside of them. Maybe it was easier that way... it was a monster after all, nothing else. She took one step forward before she followed through with the motion and gave the Hollow a minor challenge to catch her before she caught it. Its muscles tensed slightly and it slowed down just long enough to brace its body before it launched into a full lunge at her. Her aim of striking its neck was shifted drastically lower and she felt her blade come into contact with its chest instead. The force of its body still moving towards her twisted her shoulder back slightly before she allowed her upper body to give in to the weigh; shifting at the last moment to practically let it flip over her shoulder instead.

She missed...

Her second shot had to strike now or lose the moment.

There was a heavy thud when the Hollow struck the ground... its feet were barely pushing it back up before she was on top of it. Her blade went straight down through the middle of its neck and erupted out of its spliced throat. Giving into a last burst of strength, it thrashed about and managed to rip her sword into one direction until it cut cleanly through the shredding flesh to leave its head barely dangling on. She swung it back in and felt the almost sickening sense of satisfaction as the rest of its neck gave in to the force and came apart with ease.

She remembered reading somewhere that decapitation was the most painful form of death... she didn't want to think about it right now though. At this moment, she just watched as the half-convulsing body eroded away into thick ashes before they blew away into the air, creating a smoke-like cloud to sign off on this ceremonial death.

For a moment, everything seemed better.

Her body still wrecked with pain and she could feel a headache throbbing behind her eyes now... but it was better.

"Isane, what the hell?"

She jumped slightly at the remark and turned to see who it belonged to, feeling a quick wave of relief wash over her as she watched her blonde-haired sister standing not too far away. "Kiyone, thank the Gods-" and then she noticed her braided Captain standing next to her. Perhaps she had failed to notice her surroundings before but now she had a chance to get a closer look at it... and she was practically at the doorstep of Division Four. Just her luck. "Ha ha... uh, Captain Unohana... how much of that did you see?"

A slight frown marked the woman's face as she stood there silently for a moment, as though trying to contemplate the overall situation. "Isane... how long have you been here?"

"Just now..."

"That was so awesome!" Kiyone interrupted, throwing herself over the edge of the porch as she ran over to her. "Why are you dressed like that though?"

She chuckled at the woman's reaction and felt the way she threw her arms around her, not even caring about the wet material of her dress. "It's a long, long story... I don't feel like talking about it right now." Isane answered, ruffling the woman's short locks. "It's good to see you're okay though."

"Me okay? You're the one that's been trapped and gone for too long." Kiyone objected. "I've been keeping Captain Unohana company while you were gone though."

"Oh... I'm sure she appreciated that..."

"Isane!" yet another call of her name was echoed slightly as several more figures came into view from behind the Division house. Judging from the wet hair and slightly ruffled uniforms, it was easy to tell they had just gotten dressed... from what, she didn't exactly know but she wasn't sure if she was looking forward to this reunion or not- she just didn't want to answer any questions right now.

"Nice outfit." Matsumoto teased, taking note of the woman's drenched, skin-clinging dress at this point; bruises and scrapes lined the areas of skin that were revealed. Her hair was an absolute mess and was too heavy from water retention to even be recognizable anymore.

Like the Tenth Lieutenant could say anything, her uniform was half a mess from a struggled get together and she still had her towel with her. "I could say the same." Isane replied.

"Well after you ruined our hot springs date, we didn't exactly have time to make ourselves completely decent."

It took her a moment to rewind back to the initial landing and the realization that it was indeed the hot springs she had landed in... they must've been there and witnessed the entire altercation. Because the portal couldn't have possibly chosen a better place to open up. "Oh... uh... well I wasn't exactly happy about that either."

"How did you get back so soon? Well... 'soon' is really kind of inappropriate to use at this point..." Momo questioned.

"Did Yumichika make it back with you?" Nanao intervened before she could answer the other Lieutenant's question.

She frowned to herself before she gave a light shake of her head. "No, I... I got shoved through before the portal could finish, to be honest I'm surprised that I ended up here on the first try. I didn't get to see what happened to him though... I hope he's alright..."

It seemed like the casual drift of her voice gave everyone the answer they were hoping to avoid before a soft nod passed around the crowd.

"In the meantime, until we get this whole thing figured out, I think it's best if you came inside and let us patch you up." Unohana suggested.

* * *

><p>The travel through what felt like space and time was certainly a new experience for him... it felt like his body was going to be ripped apart at any moment and he was going to dissipate somewhere between the dimensions. It was certainly a terrifying thought and probably not the best thing to be thinking of right now. After all, he certainly didn't want his last thoughts before his imminent death to be about his imminent death.<p>

The break of light hinted at another arrival and the sharp acceleration in his fall said he was going to land somewhere sometime soon. He tried to brace himself for the impact but found out that it came far too early for him to have predicted anyways. The curve of his lower spine felt like it shattered when it hit the top of some kind of building, the force of the impact slightly propelled him back up and rolled him down the slanted roof. As if to add more insult to injury, the falling collision from the roof to the ground only agitated his minor wounds even more.

He had to take a moment to let the pain flow a few times through his body before he even tried to move himself; groaning as the slightest spring of movement shot spiraling waves of pain down his spine. It felt like he broke it or popped a disc somehow... but he was pretty sure something like that would've caused even greater pain than this. Or something like he wouldn't be able to feel below his waist... Slowly, he forced himself back to his feet, hearing the sound of his own spine cracking with the motion- probably not an injury he should be agitating right now but he didn't have any other choice.

Unfortunately, his sword had been knocked aside upon the ground collision and he had to force himself to stoop back down to pick it up; fingers barely touching the decorative hilt before the sound of claws scrapping shingles caught his attention. Glancing over his shoulder, he watched in time to see a sight he wished didn't exist right now. Ducking out of the way, just barely in time, he witnessed the Hollow collide with the ground in a similar manner that he did; its four legs flailing about before it could control its body enough to get back up. It sure as hell recovered a lot quicker than he did and he was still in a greater amount of pain.

He could probably give a decent run but a fight? That was almost out of the question. But he couldn't just give up... he needed to end this thing once and for all, just to put an end to this whole fucking ordeal. Pulling his sword back, he watched the Hollow give a heavy shake of its head before it whipped around and snarled at him; thin lips peeling back to reveal sharp, jagged teeth.

"Fuck you."

It gave a modest charge towards him but he was too pissed off to give it any other chance. As far as he was concerned, this had lingered on for far too long it was almost embarrassing for him and his Division. It was one quick flashstep forward and an uppercut from his blade... Starting from the Hollow's throat, he cut straight upward and split everything in between in half- listening to the satisfying crunch of its skull being broken from the bottom up. An eerie howl pierced from its open head as it fell apart into two pieces, black liquid spewing out from what remained of its skull and brain.

One more horizontal splice cut the neck open and decapitated the two pieces of its head before the Hollow could so much as get another run in. There was one last gurgle before the body collapsed, dissipating as it went down and hitting the ground in a scattered cloud of ash.

He tried not to breathe in at that one moment, just in case some of the ash collided with the air around him. It was a few staggering steps back before he let out a heavy sigh, one hand moving to brace against his still bruised spine. "Fuck this job and everything that comes with it."

"The fuck just happened out here-"

He turned slightly with the voice and frowned at the sight of the bald-headed man stepping out of the nearest barrack; the look on his face seemed to be one of mixed surprise and... something else he didn't really care for at the moment. "I see you're still ugly."

"I'm not the one looking all fucked up." Ikkaku started, matching the frown with his own as he stepped out towards him. "How the fuck did you end up here?"

"I don't feel like answering that right now, so shut up and take me to Division Four." Yumichika replied.

"Nice suit by the way-"

"I'll walk myself."

He didn't even realize he had made it back to the Society until... now, really. The edges of his vision were a little blurry and the occasional black spot arrived now and then but it wasn't much to worry him. Usually the Division Four barracks were close to reach at any point in Soul Society, so the trip shouldn't be too agonizing to make. He wasn't exactly all too worried about his injuries... he just knew that if Isane made it here before he did, then that's where she would be. That's all he wanted to know. That's all he needed to know.

Moving through the open trails, he tried to go as quickly as he could without aggravating his back- which was actually a lot easier to do than he had imagined. Ikkaku insisted on following along with him- just 'in case he passed out' was his excuse, which was easy bullshit to tell. He joked that he must've been worried sick without him here, forcing the bald-man to nearly run him off the dirt path under foot. They passed curses and almost turned the trip into a race until he felt his spine almost scream out in pain and make him take last place in this false challenge. Probably wasn't his best idea but this was a lot better than wanting to get into some kind of emotional reunion.

"Ayoo, anyone home?" Ikkaku called as they made it into the Fourth Division open lobby. "We got a big cry baby out front-" his remark was cut short as he felt the hilt of a sword smash into the space between his shoulder-blades.

"Ikkaku's suffering from head damage- mostly in the facial region." Yumichika added as he pushed past the man.

"Relaxing, you're both pretty." Matsumoto assured as she stepped into the lobby at the attraction of the new voices. It didn't take her long to notice his presence though and her expression more or less lit up. "Good to see you're alive Yumichika, Isane wouldn't stop talking about-"

"Isane's here?" he interrupted, not really even listening to the words surrounding the woman's name. He didn't care how anyone wanted to interpret his reaction at this point. "Where is she?"

The Tenth Lieutenant seemed to frown slightly at the cut off but brushed it aside with a quick grin. "She's down the hallway to the left- although she's probably already heard you by now."

Pushing the two of them aside, he made his way down the path the woman described, almost forgetting about his injuries completely. There would be no reason for her to have lied about that... it would seem only reasonable that since he showed up here then she would have had to as well seeing as she went before him. Not to rule out any possible chances that this whole ordeal could have gone terribly wrong. He tried not to seem too hasty but he still managed to push aside a few Division members that stepped into his path, muttering a quick apology as he continued on. Where was she? A room on the left... there were countless rooms on that side, which one was hers?

It seemed like just when he asked himself that, the woman herself stepped out in a quick haste, as though to match his own.

"Kotetsu..."

Those gray eyes of hers moved at the sound of his voice and immediately connected with his own. "Ayasegawa..."

If there was anything else to say at a moment like this... he sure as hell didn't know what it was. He was just glad to see her alive and well... and back in the Society with him. As tempting as it would be to pull her down into a much needed embrace, he faintly remembered where he was and who was around him. "Looks like we both made... great job with the portal."

"I think we just got lucky by a very slim chance." Isane chuckled before she moved forward to touch lightly at the cut across one of his cheeks. "Here, Captain Unohana's busy with reports right now, I can heal you."

"I'm sure you're in as bad of condition as I am." he started before he felt the way she grabbed more forcibly at his shoulder and pulled him along.

She shook her head and pulled him into the room behind her. "I've already been healed and I wasn't really that injured to begin with. You, on the other hand, are moving kind of funny."

He chuckled briefly at her assurance and moved with her to reduce the risk of further injury. "Yeah, I didn't exactly have the best landing to get in here. I think I fucked up my back pretty bad..."

"Yeah, I landed in the hot springs and managed to bruise my collarbone, left shoulder and part of my sternum from the impact alone." Isane remarked, pushing the door partly closed behind them before she helped him over to the cot on the other side of the room. She had been given a brief resting period but she figured he needed it more than she did, judging by the open wounds on his body.

He felt the gentle way she pushed him onto the cot and did her best to try and ease every motion so not to aggravate his injuries further. He guessed racing here was a bad idea but decided not to tell her that just in case. There were still those lingering crackles from his spine with the movements but they seemed to flush into that almost painful relief when he finally managed to find a comfortable position against the cot. "It's a damn shame we never got the chance to finish, or really start that date of ours... you gotta admit though, it's going to be difficult to beat a first date like that."

"Ha, just think if our first date is like this, what's the wedding going to be like?" she teased, moving her hands to cup against his jawline as she leaned down towards him. The gentle brush of her lips against his own seemed to throw out every other problem he had as they brought forth that soft cradle of relief they had both been looking for. His hands moved to mimic her own as he took a gentle grasp against her cheeks and pulled her into the embrace.

Simple yet intoxicating all in one.

Sometimes, those who walked without looking were destined to fall backwards in love.


End file.
